06 The Guardian
by Margaret Price
Summary: The Doctor faces the unsettling question: What do you do when your shape shifting companion becomes seriously ill and then mentally unstable? The Fourth Doctor
1. Sudden Illness

THE GUARDIAN © 1993 Margaret Price

Author's note: Parts of his story were in the original draft of "Whom The Gods Destroy." It was quickly apparent that I was working at cross purposes and split the stories up. The original inspiration for this was the simple question, what would happen if one of the Doctor's companions became seriously ill? And since Jason is also a shape shifter, this opened up a whole universe of possible scenarios.

I apologize in advance for taking advantage of one of the five basic cliché plotlines for this story. You'll see what I mean when you get there, but it is necessary, and it does work. So there. Feel free to deride me for it in your reviews.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

**SUDDEN ILLNESS**

In the swirling vortex where space and time collide, the TARDIS sped on its way to the planet Earth. Despite the fact that he had been exiled there during his previous incarnation, the Doctor still maintained it to be one of his favorite planets, which had become all too apparent to his current companion, Jason. It seemed to him that the Time Lord was always extolling the virtues of the Earth and/or one of its select inhabitants.

Much to the Doctor's annoyance, it wasn't the planet's rich, if off-times violent, history that interested the young man. Instead, he had become fascinated with the abundant idiomatic expressions, particularly those from the United States. The Doctor was uncertain if this was a true interest, or if the boy was doing it simply to exasperate him.

They had tried to visit Earth before, having set course for one destination or another on numerous occasions. But for one reason or another, the journey always seemed to be getting postponed. Now, finally it seemed as though they would actually make it. Earth was only two days away.

Jason Krystovan had been traveling with the Doctor for quite some time and, while he would not have admitted it openly, had grown rather attached to him. The slight, black-haired youth looked to be no more than nineteen years old; a wide-eyed innocent, which was anything but the truth. There had been times, however, when he felt very much like an innocent in the Time Lord's company, despite the fact that he was more than one hundred years old. Jason was, in fact, an Alterran; a being with the ability to change his physical form at will. Although he did not care for the designation, he was a shape shifter whose current human appearance was simply an illusion he utilized to conceal his true, non-humanoid self.

The Doctor and his companion were currently in one of the laboratories inside the enormous interior of the TARDIS. The Time Lord had discovered, quite by accident, that Jason was telepathic and had asked if he might test him further to see just how extensive his abilities were. Ever willing to try anything his friend suggested, Jason agreed, discovering too late that he was letting himself in for an intensive training course in which he was the sole participant.

As a Time Lord, and therefore telepathic himself, the Doctor taught his companion everything he knew on the subject, which turned out to be a considerable amount. Once the majority of his training was complete, the Doctor went on to test Jason's progress, connecting him, by way of a number of electronic leads, into K-9's circuitry. K-9, in turn, was linked into the telepathy circuits in the TARDIS' central control console.

The testing gone well until the day the Doctor chose to see if the Alterran had any telekinetic ability. For reasons he could not explain at the time, Jason found it very difficult to concentrate and managed to make one careless mistake after another, invalidating the data, and annoying the Doctor no end.

At times Jason's silicon-based body structure worked in the same manner as a computer circuit. During one test he inadvertently sent a stronger than normal electrical charge through the leads attached to his head, shorting out K-9 and ending the experiment in a rather permanent way.

The Doctor was appalled when the little automation started to smoke. He compounded the damage by using a fire extinguisher on the smoldering circuits. He was about to reprimand his companion for being so blatantly careless when he saw him close his eyes and put a hand to his head in obvious pain.

"Jason, are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

"What…?" Jason looked up fuzzily. "I'm sorry, Doctor. It's just…I've got such a splitting head ache all of a sudden."

"My dear boy, why on earth didn't you say so? I wouldn't've pushed you so hard," the Time Lord admonished gently. "You're looking a bit green, too, if you don't mind my saying so." He then ushered his companion from the room, ordering him to lie down for awhile.

* * *

"I've tried everything I can think of, Dr. Albert, and I _still_ can't get the wretched thing open," a dark, burly man named Carl was saying.

The person to whom he spoke was Dr. Francesca Albert, the recently appointed Director of the Freeland Oceanographic Center. She was a petite, red-haired woman, who adored her work more than anything. Especially men. Equality between the sexes was only in its infancy on her planet, and she liked to think of herself as being one of the pioneers of the movement. The fact that she was extremely intelligent, a dedicated scientist, and had influential friends in high places didn't hurt, either.

At the present moment she was scowling at the ivory chest Carl had brought into the conference room. Across the table from her sat the Center's Chief of Security, Alex Grove; a tall, muscular individual who towered over the petite oceanographer. He was a cheerful man who enjoyed teasing the sometimes too serious Dr. Albert. The two had been discussing the chest only moments before Carl arrived.

The mystery box, as it had been dubbed by the staff, had been discovered by one of the Center's diving teams only a few weeks earlier when they were checking an offshore reef for damage following an earthquake. A large area in the substrata had given way exposing the area where the chest was eventually unearthed.

The reef itself was a scientific curiosity, being unlike any other in the immediate area. The founder of the Freeland Center had dedicated his life trying to find the reason one extremely rare species of coral had chosen to settle in a spot that was several hundred miles from its place of origin.

After thirty years, Dr. Freeland, and those who had taken over his work, were no closer to finding the answer—and now they had a new mystery on their hands. After the unexpected find had been carefully cleaned, it bore no signs of wear or corrosion anywhere. Were it not for the years of coral and other marine growth that had to be scraped off, Dr. Albert would have sworn it had been planted as a hoax. Even now she was not convinced as to its authenticity as a genuine archaeological find. It could easily have been planted as a joke when Dr. Freeland began his studies and was simply forgotten. This latter theory could be either proved or disproved by the fact that the chest had symbols etched in it that matched those inside a pagan temple atop a cliff overlooking the sea basin where it had been found. Some said the symbols did nothing more than prove it to be a fake, while others claimed they proved it to be genuine. A theory that was starting to look more and more likely as all attempts to open the chest failed.

"Well, what do we do now? Blow it up?" the Director asked in exasperation.

Carl shot Alex a quick nervous glance before saying, "I've…uh, already tried explosives, Dr. Albert. They didn't even put a scratch on it."

Dr. Albert's face went almost as red as her hair. "You did what!" she exploded, jumping to her feet. "On whose authority—?"

"I authorized it," Alex Grove cut in sharply.

Carl saw the fire in the Director's eyes burn even brighter and was glad he was no longer on the receiving end of it.

"Mr. Grove," she began in an unnervingly calm and icy tone, "in the future, you will leave all decisions of this nature to me. Is that clear?"

"There was no harm done—"

"I said, is that clear, _Mr. Grove?_" the Director demanded.

"Yes, Dr. Albert, that's _perfectly clear_," the Security Chief replied through clenched teeth.

Dr. Albert turned to Carl, who was wishing he were anywhere else. "Alright, Carl, you've done your best."

"I suppose now we bring in a locksmith and let him have a go?" Alex suggested helpfully. "After all, he's got…what? Fifteen holes to choose from?"

His superior gave him a disapproving sideways glance.

Carl cleared his throat nervously. "Where do you want me to put it until the, er, locksmith arrives?"

Dr. Albert sighed, scowling at the box and then turning to Alex. "Well, Mr. Grove? What should we do with it? Where's the safest place?"

Resisting the urge to comment on being asked for a decision, he replied thoughtfully, "We'd better put it back in the vault. Even if it turns out to be just a block of stone carved to look like a chest, it's still of historical value."

Carl nodded and carried the heavy mystery box from the room. Alex rose to his feet, pulling a card key from his pocket. "I'd better go unlock the vault for him."

"It probably _is_ just a hunk of rock," the oceanographer muttered dejectedly.

"Who knows? It's something for the history books, though, isn't it?" Alex observed as he left the room.

Dr. Albert sat on the edge of the table and brooded. She held degrees in oceanography, marine biology, and zoology; was a dedicated scientist who had been studying the sea and its abundant life for as long as she could remember. And what did she have to show for it? A chest of questionable origins that nobody could open!

Alex caught up with Carl at the vault, slipping his card key into the slot and opening the door. "It'll be nice and safe in there, don't you think, Carl?" he grinned.

The burly man shook his head in amazement. "How can you take that from her and still be so damn cheerful?"

Alex laughed. "She's just mad because I thought of the explosives first."

"Women got no business in charge of a place like this," Carl snorted as he exited the vault.

This remark only caused Alex to laugh again. "You didn't know our last Director, did you? He once told me he was nothing more than a glorified secretary, filling out forms all day. He said that's why he recommended Dr. Albert for the job."

* * *

Jason awoke from a restless sleep feeling worse than ever. His head was pounding, every muscle in his body ached and he felt extremely weak. He suddenly noticed his hands had a distinctive greenish cast and caught his breath. One look in the mirror confirmed his own diagnosis. He had Draconian flu.

"Oh no…" the horrified Alterran breathed, putting a hand to his mottled green face. Still in his pajamas and dressing gown, he stumbled to the door and out into the corridor. His room was not in the usual living area of the TARDIS, having been a disused laboratory the Doctor had re configured at his request, thus transforming it into the combination lab/bedroom it now was. It was only a few doors down from where he had left the Doctor, but when he opened the door, he found, to his chagrin, but for the now deactivated K-9 the room was empty.

"Console room…" Jason muttered as he turned from the door. "Must be in…console room."

Unfortunately, the console room was much farther away than he would have liked. Halfway there, Jason became very dizzy. The floor seemed to pitch and buck beneath his bare feet causing him to grab the wall to keep from falling. After a few more faltering steps, he sank to the floor, feeling dead tired. He leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes to rest a minute…

Jason awoke with a start and cursed himself for having fallen asleep. He tried to stand, only to discover his legs couldn't hold his weight any longer. With no other alternative, he proceeded to crawl on hands and knees, now desperate to reach the console room where he prayed the Doctor would be.

The Doctor was indeed in the console room, checking on their progress. He wanted to make doubly sure everything was in order and hummed tunelessly as he went, feeling rather pleased at how well everything was going. Looking over the controls one last time his eyes fell on the open telepathy circuits, which reminded him of his companion, whom he had not seen since ordering him to bed several hours earlier. Since they would be unable to continue the tests until K-9 was repaired, he reached over to close the circuit only to stop when he thought he heard a muffled thudding on the inner door. Puzzled, the Doctor went to the door and slowly pushed it open, finding Jason's prostrate form on the other side.


	2. Delirious

**CHAPTER 2**

**DELIRIOUS**

"Jason!" the Doctor gasped. He turned his companion over and was stunned by his appearance. He touched the boy's green and mottled skin, discovering at the same time he was burning with fever.

Jason lay gasping for breath a moment before finally attempting to speak. He had dragged himself the last few yards to the console room door and was completely exhausted. He took hold of the Doctor's coat and gasped out weakly, "Doctor…you're in danger. Great…danger."

"Danger?" the puzzled Time Lord echoed.

"From me. Draconian flu…unstable in…adults." Jason continued to weaken as he spoke.

"You should be in bed."

"No. Please, you…you must..._listen!_" Swallowing hard, Jason fought desperately to convey his warning. "I…I could…kill you. Please, you must...you must…" His voice trailed off and he went limp, his strength having given out.

"Poor boy's delirious," the Doctor muttered. He lifted the unconscious youth into his arms, carrying him back to his room and returning him to bed. He then got a large container of cold juice so as to begin forcing fluids into his fever-ridden companion the moment he woke up. Thus prepared, the Doctor started paging through one of the Alterran Healer's medical texts.

"Let's see now, Draconian flu," he mumbled, flipping through the pages. "Draconian…Ah! Here it is, Draconian Flu." Throwing a quick glance in Jason's direction, the Doctor sat down and started to read. He learned that the Draconian flu derived its name from the unmistakable green coloring it produced on the skin. It was the common name for an equally common Alterran juvenile illness. The symptoms included; muscular weakness, high fever, and, of course, green skin. The onset of the disease was rapid and lasted anywhere from a few days to more than a week.

The Doctor looked up when Jason moaned and stirred, his eyes opening slowly. "Jason, I want you to drink this," he said gently, bringing him a glass of cold liquid and insisting that he consume at least half of it.

Unable to comply fully, Jason pushed the glass away and sank back onto the bed. The Doctor tried to coax him into attempting more, but to no avail. Giving up, he put down the glass and picked up the book. "According to this," the Time Lord grinned amusedly, "you've got the Alterran equivalent to the measles."

"It's not funny, Doctor," Jason snapped irritably.

"Sorry. I've been reading up on your illness while you were…er, dozing."

"You haven't read…the dangers yet, have you?"

"No, why?"

"You'd better. You _need_…to know…" Closing his eyes, Jason sighed resignedly. "Lord, I'm so tired…"

There was something in his tone that sent a chill down the Doctor's spine. He returned his attention to the book, finding a highlighted section of text on the following page that finally made sense out of Jason's desperation to reach him. While Draconian Flu was only a minor annoyance in children, it was highly unpredictable in adults. A patient could lapse into a coma for days, become violent, or even oscillate between the two. In some severe cases, psychotic behavior manifested itself, necessitating the use of tranquilizers and confinement until the crisis stage passed.

The Doctor stopped reading and looked up sharply, seeing his companion had quietly dozed off. He rose to his feet, going straight to the console room where he immediately changed course for the nearest Alterran medical facility. Glancing at the text he had inadvertently brought with him, he sighed. It looked as if their trip to Earth would be postponed yet again...

* * *

During the Doctor's brief absence, Jason's condition deteriorated sharply. By the time he returned from the console room, the boy was a deep shade of olive green. His breathing was rapid and his temperature was climbing. The Doctor started to sponge him down and was relieved when the Alterran's striking blue eyes fluttered open and looked up at him. It was obvious Jason was fighting to maintain his lucidity and the Time Lord stopped him from attempting to speak, telling him they were on course for the nearest medical base.

"How long?" Jason asked almost inaudibly.

"About eighteen hours."

This only served to upset the Healer now turned patient further. He shook his head in despair. "No. No…too long…too long." The Doctor tried to calm him without success. He was too intent on reproaching himself for not having recognized his own symptoms sooner.

"It's too late for recriminations now, my boy," the Doctor said in a voice that was far more cheerful than he felt.

"No, not yet." Jason's clouded eyes suddenly cleared, fixing themselves on his friend's face. In a voice that was deadly serious, he said, "Doctor, you must…restrain me. Now. Before it's too late."

"What!"

"You'll need to…chain me down. It's the…only way…you'll be safe."

The Doctor was horrified. "Jason, I can't do that!"

"You must! Doctor, please…you don't…you don't understand." The Alterran seemed on the point of tears, desperate and terrified. "I don't want to…hurt you. I'd die if I did."

"You wouldn't—" The Doctor broke off when his companion's hand clamped down on his arm. "Doctor, like this…I could _kill_ you!" Releasing his grip, Jason fell back and shivered. "Oh, Lord…I'm so…cold," he whispered.

"Your temperature's very high," the Time Lord told him as he resumed sponging him down.

Feeling his strength failing him again, Jason pleaded pitifully, "Doctor, please. I'm not delirious. You must…do as I ask. Please."

"Jason, that book of yours says the danger is only in the rarest of cases. What makes you so sure yours will be one of them?"

"Because I've…I've…" the Alterran's voice trailed off as he passed out once again. He was trying to tell the Doctor that he'd already had the disease as a child but, apparently, it hadn't been serious enough for his body to produce the antibodies that would prevent his getting it again. As a Healer, he knew that a second time around was _always_ an extreme case.

The Doctor sat thoughtfully for several minutes, agonizing over his inevitable decision. Heaving a heavy sigh, he rose to his feet, going on to manacle the unconscious Alterran to the heavy bedposts. Despite his illness, Jason was still a qualified physician and the Doctor bowed to the fact that he knew more about the disease than anyone.

Three hours passed without incident and Jason's condition even seeming to stabilize. He continued to float in and out of consciousness, but his temperature, although high, had not gone up. The worried Time Lord hoped this was a good sign, but knew it wouldn't last.

He was absolutely right.

Without warning the Alterran's temperature skyrocketed and he began losing his grip on reality. Knowing of nothing else to do, the Doctor decided to pack his desperately ill friend in ice to try and stop his fever from climbing. As he prepared him for this, he began regretting having chained him to the bedposts. As far as he could tell, Jason didn't have the strength to move, much less to try and harm him.

As the ice was being packed around him, Jason became delirious and thrashed wildly in his bonds. He cried out in anger and then cursed in several languages, making several insulting and downright hateful remarks that his amazed friend was certain he would be appalled to learn he had ever uttered.

The Doctor tried to calm his companion, only to be rewarded with further verbal abuse. He made a mental to inquire as to where the Alterran aristocrat had picked up his extensive gutter vocabulary. The steady stream of obscenities ended when Jason lost consciousness and fell limply back upon the bed, much to the relief of the Doctor's ears.

This scene was repeated over the next few hours. Each time Jason became more violent, thrashing and straining against the heavy chains that bound him. His illness seemed to have removed all his inhibitions and tact, allowing all his inner resentments and anger to come pouring forth, thoroughly unsettling the Doctor who never dreamed his unassuming companion could harbor such hatred. It wasn't until the Alterran started exhibiting delusions of grandeur that the Doctor really became worried, especially when his companion started threatening him with some very nasty forms of death. By this time he was very grateful he'd had the sense to listen to the Healer's warning and chain him down.

The Doctor was in the process of adding more ice to the wrappings when Jason's worst fears were realized. He began changing form. His eyes snapped open and he was suddenly a bear-like creature. He pulled at the thick chains holding him down, snapping them with ease. He then let out a terrifying howl as he got to his feet, smashing a fist against the wall and putting his massive arm straight through it. The long shaggy fur got caught on the jagged edges of the hole and he flailed angrily a moment as he tried to untangle himself.

While the Alterran's attention was diverted, the Doctor tried to slip out the door but was immediately cut off. The Beast growled angrily, bearing his fearsome white teeth before throwing the fleeing figure against the far wall, stunning him. The huge paws changed shape, the sharp claws growing longer. The snarling creature took a step towards the semi-conscious Time Lord and bumped against the bed, which diverted his attention yet again. The mattress and linen were shredded and the bed frame was turned to splinters. A section of bookcase was brought down, as was a shelf full of jars containing a portion of Jason's meticulously cataloged herb collection.

After shattering another section of wall, the incoherent Jason looked up and saw the Doctor, who had recovered his senses and was now trapped in the far corner of the room. The Alterran changed formed again, becoming a strange, lumbering creature the Doctor did not recognize. Its huge hands reached out for him and he tried to avoid their grasp, but there was no room to maneuver in the shattered debris. He slipped on some of the ice Jason had been packed in, and was stunned once more when a savage blow suddenly knocked him aside, sending him into the wall a second time.

The Doctor had no time to recover. Before he knew what was happening, he was lifted from the floor and thrown headlong into a counter full of glass beakers, which, fortunately for him, were empty. Had he landed on the other side of the counter, he would have been covered with acid.

The Alterran let out another angry howl and turned, breaking down the door with his fists and lumbering out into the corridor. From his place on the counter, the dazed and bruised Doctor gratefully watched him go, getting down from the counter only when he was certain the creature would not return.

Stumbling over to the sink, the Doctor ran cold water over his shredded hands, pulling out the glass fragments that had been embedded in them. He then used some of the linen Jason had left in his wake to wrap his hands as best he could. This would have to do for the time being, he thought shakily, looking up sharply when an angry howl echoed from out in the corridor. Drawing a deep breath, the Doctor surveyed his devastated surroundings. He righted an overturned stool and sat down, having concluded that discretion was indeed the better part of valor. He was going to stay right where he was.

The TARDIS suddenly lurched violently, throwing the unsuspecting Time Lord to the floor. He got to his feet only to be sent spinning out the door and into the corridor by a second violent spasm. "He's in the console room!" he gasped, annoyed with himself for not having considered this possibility.

The Doctor raced to the console room. Considering the damage his companion had already done to his own room, he could just imagine the control console in hundreds of irreparable bits on the floor, and wires hanging like spaghetti from the roundels. With this mental image to deal with, it was little wonder the Doctor was momentarily stunned when he opened the door to find the control room intact. The mushroom shaped control console was humming quietly in the center of the room, the time rotor rising and falling as it always did when the time machine was in flight.

Jason had transmuted yet again and was now in his true form; a creature with only a large, bulbous main body with sapphire blue crystals evenly spaces around the circumference. Numerous tendrils snaked from below the main body down to the floor where they barely touched, the graceful being hovering in the air. The Alterran's normal coloring was ivory, yet even in his true form he was still a deep shade of green. He was just inside the inner door, but gave no sign of having noticed when it opened.

The Doctor stood in the doorway silently watching the powerful being before concluding he had passed out again. He slipped in, keeping a watchful eye on Jason as he backed cautiously to the console. As soon as his hand touched it and he threw a quick glance back, looking up in time to see the blue crystals on the motionless Alterran starting to glow brightly. He immediately froze. His companion was waking up and his powerful sensors would detect his slightest movement if he wasn't careful

It was already too late.


	3. We'll Call Her Crystal

**CHAPTER 3**

"**WE'LL CALL HER CRYSTAL."**

"No, Time Lord! Do _not_ interfere," the Alterran snarled.

The Doctor was struck by two things at the same time. The first was the voice. In his true form Jason's voice normally had a gentle, soothing quality, but now it was completely different; deep and resonant with an unnatural threatening edge. The second thing the Doctor noticed was Jason had not called him by name, having used the designation of Time Lord, something he did on the rarest of occasions—and usually in anger.

Holding up his hands, the Doctor stepped away from the console, having to backpedal when Jason suddenly descended on him. Unable to avoid the long tendrils, he was entwined and then roughly flung against the wall. The Doctor was able to elude the second attack by interposing the central control console between himself and the deranged Alterran.

Puzzled by this maneuver, Jason hesitated, causing the Doctor to hope it meant the powerful being was incapable of vaulting the large console in order to get at him.

"I'm not returning to the Empire," Jason announced suddenly, his now deep voice taking on a sinister, almost metallic quality.

"Why?" the Doctor asked innocently. "I thought you were proud of your heritage."

A chilling laugh rumbled forth in reply. "I was a fool! Have you any conception of the powers I possess? I'm an Alterran of the First Circle with powers greater than you could possibly imagine. But am I allowed to use them? No. They're so rigidly controlled that I'm no better than a weak human."

The Doctor was unfamiliar with the illusion to the First Circle, but he didn't like the sound of it at all. He was, however, familiar with a few of his companion's powers, and had an inkling as to their full extent. He also knew that his formidable powers were suppressed while he was in human form. In his true form, however, Jason was virtually invincible, and if he were out of his mind enough to act without a conscience, he would be extremely dangerous, if not unstoppable by anyone other than a member of his own race.

The Doctor looked on helplessly as his companion continued to succumb to his illness induced megalomania. He wondered if there were any part of the once gentle, self-controlled young man that was still reachable. The being before him was a complete stranger; cold, malevolent, terrifying.

In the midst of the tirade, the Alterran suddenly went silent, his crystalline eyes going dark. Seeing this, the Doctor relaxed visibly. Jason had passed out again. This finally gave the Time Lord the opportunity to check the status of the console, where he discovered, to his dismay, that the coordinates had been changed and the controls locked. Even though it would not take long to unlock them, he wasn't sure how much more of this cat and mouse game he could take. So in the interest of health (his own) he decided to drug his increasingly unstable companion until they reached more qualified hands.

Since Jason always appeared in his human form, the Doctor was only vaguely familiar with his true biological makeup. He did know enough to realize that he'd need the strongest sedative he could find and immediately went to the sickbay.

* * *

When the Doctor returned to the console room, he slowly opened the door, seeing the Alterran right where he'd left him. Heaving a sigh of relief, he crossed the room, discovering too late that the cat and mouse game had escalated. Several powerful tendrils abruptly entwined him, the syringe containing the drug forced from his hand.

"No, Time Lord!" Jason snarled evilly. "The power of old is within my grasp! I will allow _nothing_ to keep it from me."

The Doctor had no idea what his companion was raving about and tried to reason with any part of Jason's mind that was still lucid. His words were abruptly and literally choked off as the tendril around his throat constricted. He fought back as best he could, but his hands were stiff and swollen from the gashes inflicted on them earlier. They were also giving him a great deal of pain, making it difficult to pull the coil from his neck before it throttled the life out of him.

The coil continued to tighten mercilessly until the Doctor eventually lost consciousness. It was only when the Time Lord went limp that the reality of what he was doing finally set off an alarm in Jason's deranged and fevered brain. He released his unconscious friend immediately, watching as he crumpled to the floor.

The alarm continued to sound and the Alterran backed away from the motionless form, his erratic personality changing again. His voice returned to normal, the malicious edge vanishing as abruptly as it appeared. Both angry and terrified, Jason cried out, "Dead…killed…_murder!_ No! Not me! _Not me!_" He moved back and forth as though pacing, the confusion in his mind building as he repeated the words over and over, "No. Not true. Not me."

The TARDIS materialized during this traumatic upheaval and Jason pulled the door lever, vanishing through the double doors.

The Doctor regained his senses only a few minutes later. He sat up slowly, rubbing his throat and wincing from the pain in his hands. Seeing the medical text he'd brought to the console room lying in a tattered heap beneath the control console, he shook his head. "That young man's going to have a lot to answer for when he gets better," he grumbled.

The Time Lord managed to get to a sitting position, his body aching all over from the battering he had received over the last hour. Seeing the exterior doors standing open, he slowly got to his feet and went cautiously over to them, half expecting to be set upon again. Instead he discovered, to his horror, that the TARDIS had not materialized on solid ground but was hovering several hundred feet above water. "Oh, Jason…" he moaned, leaning against the doorframe in despair.

The Doctor stood staring down at the water in uncertainty. His hands were throbbing terribly, however, making clear thinking impossible. He knew he would have to see to them before doing anything else. Turning, he crossed to the inner door, stopping when a sudden thought struck him. Going back to the console, he started the computer recording the atmospheric conditions. By using this data, and with a little luck, he might be able to trace Jason's path by following the ocean currents below.

* * *

Less than twelve hours after his dynamic departure from the TARDIS control room, the unconscious Jason washed up on a quiet beach several hundred miles from where he had entered the water. He was still in his true form and gave the divers who found him quite a start. They immediately contacted the Freeland Oceanographic Center, only a few miles away.

Dr. Albert was ecstatic when the call came in, thinking the Alterran to be an injured sea creature. Jason was taken to the Center and placed in the main tank, this being the only one in the building with access to the open sea. Access to the top of the tank was on the first floor and surrounded by metal walkways and railings. There was a large observation window below water level with an airlock beside it that was accessible from an observation room. It was in this room that Alex Grove found Dr. Albert, having come down to see what all the fuss was about.

"So, this is your latest addition, eh?" he said conversationally. "I'd've thought it'd be a little more impressive the way everyone's been carrying on."

Dr. Albert scowled at him. "For your information, _Mr. Grove_, this is an unknown and, as yet, unnamed marine animal."

Alex snorted. "Oh, come off it, Frankie—" He cut himself off when he received a withering look. "Alright, alright, _Dr. Albert_, then. Even I can see it's just a big green jellyfish."

At that moment Jason regained consciousness and started to thrash violently inside the tank, his delirium having returned in full force. He threw himself against the sides of the tank, letting out some very impressive shrieks as he babbled in his own language, which no one present could understand. The water churned and exploded into the air causing a great deal of excitement on the walkways and the observation deck above the tank.

"I don't think she likes being called a jellyfish," an amused Frankie observed finally.

"_She?"_

"Well, why not? There's no reason why it can't be female."

"Forgive me my chauvinistic heart," Alex said in a feigned apology. "I thought you'd say it would_ have_ to be a male because of the way it's throwing its weight around."

Frankie gave him a wry smile and turned away to hide her amusement. Watching the thrashing occupant of the tank, she breathed, "Isn't she magnificent?"

Alex smiled broadly. So many people had opposed her appointment to the Directorship. This creature was just the thing she needed to prove herself, as well as show them all what she was really capable of. He never would have admitted feeling his way and turned to leave, saying only, "When you've seen one jellyfish, you've seen them all." Alex punctuated his remark by slamming the door behind him.

Dr. Albert came out of her daze when the door slammed, not having noticed when the Security Chief left. Pulling herself together, she went to assemble her people in order to examine the newest occupant of the main tank.

Confused and delirious, Jason was still under the control of his illness. Dr. Albert was afraid he might injure himself, or was already injured, thinking his extremely violent thrashing was due to pain and/or fear. She, therefore, had him tranquilized. Once it was determined he was not injured (as far as they could tell) the team seized the opportunity to completely examine the anesthetized creature. The Alterran was carefully weighed, measured and photographed. Some blood was drawn and a few tissue samples were taken.

Dr. Albert's examination of the creature left her more puzzled than enlightened. She had no idea how he survived either in or out of water. She had found no evidence of gills as with fish, or a blow hole as with sea mammals. Uncertain as to how long her newest arrival could remain out of water, she had him returned to the main tank.

Jason came to his senses just as he was being returned to the tank, the tranquilizer having worn off far sooner than anyone expected. His blue crystalline eyes suddenly blazed and a tendril lashed out, pulling the nearest person, which turned out to be Dr. Albert, into the tank and underwater. She struggled frantically to get free, but wasn't strong enough to untangle even one of the coils. Another team member was pulled under and then someone fired a tranquilizer dart into the flailing creature. He let out a shriek of pain, releasing his struggling captives who broke the surface gasping for breath.

Enraged by the stinging dart, Jason went on the attack, forgetting all about those in the tank with him. The people on the gantries were now his targets and he managed to catch hold of one unfortunate individual who had misjudged how far out of the water he could rise. The man was wrenched over a railing and into the tank, his shoulder being dislocated in the process. He was saved any further injuries as the tranquilizer took effect and Jason passed out.

Once the excitement was over and everyone was back in dry clothes, Dr. Albert set to work assimilating and analyzing all the data the team had managed to collect. From the outer office, someone called, "Dr. Albert, what do I put on the file? We don't even have a clinical designation yet."

With a smile, she replied, "Crystal. We'll call her Crystal."

* * *

It had taken considerably longer for the Doctor to unlock the console controls than he expected, and this was due to several reasons, none the least of which was the fact his injured hands were giving him considerable difficulty. He could not keep his mind on what he was doing because of the pain and the fact that he was extremely worried about his companion. On top of that he discovered that Jason had shuffled around several of the circuit boards that were crucial to the operation of the TARDIS. Each board had to be returned to its proper slot before any coordinate changes could be made. Otherwise the TARDIS would dematerialize prematurely, which was the last thing the Doctor wanted. Since he had no idea where he was to begin with, he would end up stranding his missing companion.

Once the console was in working order, the Doctor was able to begin the laborious task of tracking the currents of the ocean below. He reflected on Jason's love of the sea and prayed the boy had had the decency to follow the currents. That is, of course, if he survived the fall from the TARDIS. The Doctor shook these dark thoughts from his mind. There were already too many variables facing him in the monumental job of finding his missing friend. The last thing he wanted to consider was the possibility that he was merely searching for Jason's lifeless body.


	4. The Untold Truth

**CHAPTER 4**

**THE UNTOLD TRUTH  
**

"This was on my doorstop this morning," Dr. Albert growled as she threw a newspaper down on the Security Chief's desk. It was a copy of a tabloid call "The Untold Truth" and had a sketch of Jason on the front page under the bold headline, Has The Guardian Of Jaka Returned For His Treasure?

"I want to know who's responsible for this, Alex," Frankie demanded.

Alex glanced at the offending paper and snorted. "Who knows where those rags get their stories. Maybe one of the divers who found her sold it to them."

"Then how did they get her _name?_ I didn't give that to her until that afternoon." Picking up the paper, Frankie proceeded to read an excerpt, becoming more annoyed as she went.

"…_the creature, named Crystal by the Center's Director, Dr. Francesca Albert, is of unknown origin and is, as yet, unidentified. Its appearance comes within six weeks of the discovery of a mysterious stone chest in the Coral Basin. A diving team, also from the Freeland Oceanographic Center, unearthed the object, which is rumored to be inscribed with symbols identical to those found inside the ancient Temple of Jaka and has been kept locked away since its discovery. It is not known how long 'Crystal' will also remain hidden from public view as Dr. Albert has been unavailable for comment—"_

Frankie stopped reading and looked up. "We're going to have Brogan and his nutcase followers down here all over again," she said in exasperation. "First the chest, and now Crystal. Where the hell are they getting it from?" She punctuated her question by throwing the paper into the trash.

Alex watched her in silence, thinking how appropriate it was that she had red hair. It so matched her fiery personality. "I don't know where _they_ get it from," he replied calmly, "but know where _I_ do. My sister works at a newsstand and saw a copy of that rag when it arrived. She called me, and then I called the police informing them that we might be in for a repeat performance from Brogan and company."

Frankie blinked. Then she smiled and finally laughed. "You know what? You're no bad—for a man."

Alex grinned back. He got to his feet and opened the door. "You're not so bad yourself—for an oceanographer."

Following Frankie into the hall, he then asked "Have you come to any conclusions about Crystal yet?"

Frankie shook her head and sighed, "No, she's still a mystery. Fascinating, but a mystery. Everything about her is so unlike anything I've ever seen before." She went on to describe some of her numerous and perplexing observations as they made their way down to the observation room. By the time they arrived the Security Chief's head was swimming.

"Alright, alright, I'm convinced!" Alex said as they entered the room. "I'm sorry I ever mentioned it." Looking over to the tank, he called happily, "Good morning, Crystal, old girl. How are you today?"

Inside the tank, Jason was slowly returning to normal, the worst of his illness having run its course. Once his fever had broken he stopped his violent thrashing and became, instead, quite listless, floating in the cool water and feeling strangely detached from reality; a common side effect of the Draconian Flu. Once he returned to his right mind, he found it completely blank, knowing no more about himself than did Dr. Albert, except for the fact that he was not a she.

"Wow! She sure has calmed down in the last three days, hasn't she?" Alex remarked. He then scowled at the occupant of the tank. "Frankie, is it my imagination, or is Crystal changing color? I'd've sworn she was darker than that the day you brought her in."

"She's been fading steadily for the past twenty-four hours." Seeing the inevitable next question, Frankie held up her hands. "And don't ask me how she's doing it, either, I haven't the slightest idea."

"She's not sick, is she?" Alex asked concernedly. His knowledge of marine life was admittedly limited, but he did know that some species could not survive in captivity. He was relieved when Dr. Albert replied, "No, no, she's perfectly fine. In fact, the more accustomed to us she gets, the more she seems to fade. And her appetite's actually improved over the last day, too, so I can only assume the color change was some kind of defense mechanism. At the rate she's going, she'll be completely white by morning."

"That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you something," the Security Chief began baitingly. "What happens if _she_ turns out to be a _he?_"

Dr. Albert smiled devilishly. "Well…I suppose I'll just have to call him Chris." She paused a beat, adding, "And then throw him back."

Alex gave her a sideways glance. "You've been waiting for me to ask that, haven't you?" He received another devilish grin mixed with a schoolgirl giggle. Before he could think of a suitable response, his beeper went off and he went to the phone across the room.

Frankie heard him moan, "Oh, no, not already," and turned to see an exasperated expression on the face of her Security Chief. "I'll be right there," Alex said and then hung up the phone. Turning to the puzzled Director, he informed, "High Priest Brogan and some of the other _servants_ of Jaka are out front demanding the release of the Guardian."

Frankie cursed under her breath, echoing Alex's sentiments exactly. "Do you want me to come along, or is it too early for that?" she asked.

"Let me see how bad it is first. Will you be in your office later?"

Dr. Albert told him she would and watched him leave, feeling angry, helpless, and frustrated all at the same time. Turning back to the tank and its carelessly floating occupant, she put a hand on the window, tapping her fingernails on the glass. "You're not their silly old Guardian, are you, Crystal?" she cooed. The Alterran moved closer and Frankie smiled lovingly, tapping her nails again as a tendril reached out in her direction. "No, you're not the Guardian," she said firmly, adding wistfully, "I wish to heaven I knew what you _really_ are, though."

"I wish I knew myself," Jason replied in an equally wistful tone. Unfortunately, he was still speaking in his own language, and to Frankie it sounded like the usual squeaks and clicks of countless other marine animals.

"I guess I'll just have to find out the hard way, won't I, Crystal? You'll help me, won't you?" So saying, Frankie went to her office, having no idea how very accurate this remark would prove to be.

* * *

After working for days on the console the Doctor discovered, to his delight, that the TARDIS was much closer to land than he dared hope. He was able to track the incoming tides and surface currents with ease. He estimated as closely as he could where his companion might have come ashore and made what could be described in cosmic terms as a bull's eye. The TARDIS materialized only a few miles from the actual spot where Jason had washed ashore.

As he made his approach, the Doctor saw a town a short distance away and decided to start his search there, beginning with the usual channels of inquiry. At the police station, he inquired as to whether any unidentified persons had appeared during the five days since his companion disappeared. None of the descriptions matched, which was both a relief and a disappointment. It meant one of two things. Jason was still alive and unharmed, or he wasn't in the area at all.

After a long and fruitless afternoon, the Doctor wandered aimlessly through the town, lost in thought. The smell of food brought him back to reality. It also reminded him that he had failed to eat anything all day, which only brought his task more vividly to mind. This never would've happened with his companion around. Jason was _always_ hungry.

Seeing a newsstand just ahead, the Time Lord felt it might be best if he found out exactly when he was, knowing only vaguely the where—the planet Teggell. An involuntary cry escaped him when he saw a copy of "The Untold Truth" and its sketch of his Alterran companion on the front page. It had never occurred to him that Jason might still be in his true form. He so rarely revealed himself this way, even to the Doctor. Then again, if the boy were sick or weak from his illness, he would simply wait for his health to return and then disappear without revealing himself to anyone.

The Time Lord bought the tabloid, as well as several more respectable publications, and then went to the café across the street. He enjoyed an excellent meal of local delicacies as he poured over his newspapers. Once he'd finished digesting both his meal and the papers, the Doctor asked directions to the Freeland Oceanographic Center.

* * *

By the time the Doctor arrived at the Center, it was late in the afternoon. Dr. Albert was in her office trying to get caught up on paperwork when the call came up that someone was asking to see her. The Time Lord insisted that it was a matter of the greatest importance, which finally brought the reluctant Director to the lobby. When she learned it concerned Crystal, she accused him of bringing her out under false pretenses.

"My dear Dr. Albert," the Time Lord soothed, "I can assure you my reasons for being here are strictly personal and involve no one other than myself. You see, I believe I know what that creature of yours is. And if I'm right, you've a great deal more than a new form of marine life on your hands."

The Director was unimpressed, having heard it all before from Brogan and his followers. "I think I'm a much better judge of that than you are, Doctor," Frankie replied tersely. She turned to leave and he held out a hand to stop her. Annoyed, she took hold of it firmly to say good-bye, equally firmly, but never got the chance. As soon as she squeezed his hand, the Time Lord caught his breath and let out a small cry of pain.

"Doctor, your hands!" she gasped. "What've you done to them?"

Indeed, they were not in the best of shape. The Doctor had not been paying them much attention, having been more concerned with finding his companion than looking after himself. He, therefore, had not given his hands the chance to heal properly. His fingers were still stiff and swollen and the skin was badly discolored from the numerous gashes.

"I had a run in with a counter full of glass," he explained mildly. "The glass won."

"When was that?"

"A few days ago, I think…"

"A few days!" Dr. Albert gasped. "It's a wonder they're not infected." She immediately took him to the dispensary where she properly cleaned and dressed his wounds, giving him a dose of antibiotics in the process.

"If you're this conscientious with someone you distrust," the Doctor remarked, "you must be exceptional with the marine life that requires your care."

Frankie gave him a half-smile as she put the bandages away. Looking him in the eye, she asked pointedly, "Alright, Doctor, I want a straight answer. Why are you _really_ here? You're obviously not a reporter. And you're certainly not a religious fanatic. Is it just plain old-fashioned scientific curiosity?"

The Time Lord gave her a look that was both surprised and inquiring and she said simply, "You talk like a scientist."

Flashing a broad smile, the Doctor replied, "Dr. Albert, if I were to tell you what I suspected, you'd have me thrown out as a crackpot."

"What makes you think I won't anyway?"

The Doctor's smile widened. "_Your_ plain old-fashioned scientific curiosity."

Now it was Frankie's turn to smile.

"All I ask is that you let me see Crystal for myself. If I'm right, I'll explain everything. And if I'm wrong, _then_ you can throw me out."

The Director drew a deep breath, giving the Doctor a dubious look. It seemed almost too ludicrous to consider. Who was this vagabond scientist who had so suddenly appeared out of nowhere? Where did he come from? And why had he waited two days after the story broke about Crystal before contacting her? Then again, there was something strangely compelling about him; his tone, his manner. It was obvious he was completely serious about what he was saying.

The Doctor watched silently as Frankie mulled all this over in her mind. After several minutes, she looked over at him and he said hopefully, "Well…?"


	5. Release The Guardian Or Die!

**CHAPTER 5**

"**RELEASE THE GUARDIAN OR DIE!"**

Catching the puppy-dog look in the Doctor's eyes, Frankie could not help but smile. "Oh, alright," she said at last. "I'll let you in to see Crystal. But it'll have to be tomorrow morning."

"Why not now?" the Time Lord wanted to know.

"Well, for one thing, I'm supposed to be in a staff meeting five minutes ago. And I want to hear this explanation of yours in detail."

"And the other reason?"

"The other reason is, you're not supposed to be in here at all without a pass," she admitted guiltily. "We've been having some trouble with the members of the lunatic fringe, and my Chief of Security's tightened things up for a while."

Mildly disappointed at being put off after his long search, the Doctor bid Dr. Albert good-bye until morning. He wasn't sure what he was going to tell her if it turned out Jason was still ill and didn't recognize him. They had worked out a verbal and nonverbal code so the Alterran could let him know who he was when he took on an unrecognizable form. If Jason's mind wasn't clear yet, he would be unable to respond.

As he left the building, the Doctor wondered if the delay might not be beneficial in the long run. Especially if his companion was still recovering. Changing his mind on destinations, the Doctor returned to town and set about finding out as much as possible concerning the Cult of Jaka and its Guardian.

* * *

After her staff meeting, Dr. Albert went to inform Alex Grove of the Doctor's appointment.

"You don't mean to say you actually believed him, do you?" Alex said in a disbelieving tone. "Oh, Frankie, how could you?"

Dr. Albert ground her teeth in annoyance. "Alex, I've told you a hundred times to stop calling me that here! And in answer to your question—Yes, I did believe him."

"Why?"

"I don't know, really. There was something about him…"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Did he melt your icy heart, Madam Director?" he jested, having to duck when a small book was thrown at him.

"Who's on duty tonight?" Dr. Albert asked seriously.

Still chuckling, Alex fished through the stack of papers in a tray on his desk, triumphantly producing the one he wanted. "Let's see…" he said softly, scanning the dates on the list. "Tony'll to be outside, just in case old Brogan and his cronies decide to erect another alter of purification in the parking lot." Frankie groaned, recalling the commotion the last on caused. "Carl's in the administration wing," the Security Chief went on, "and…Johnson's in the labs and gets to watch the fish—and Crystal." Looking up, he added, "And, of course, there's the maintenance crew."

The Director nodded approvingly and turned to leave, stopping when a sudden thought struck her. "Oh, I almost forgot. Harris is working late in the lab area tonight, so let your boys know. I'd hate to have him set off an alarm by mistake."

"Okay, Boss," Alex grinned, making a notation on the paper. "What about you?"

"You know me, Alex. I always work late."

Alex Grove sighed heavily. "Yes, I know…"

* * *

It had been several since the regular staff had gone home and all was quiet. Johnson went to one of the rear doors and called to Tony, offering him a cigarette and engaging him in idle conversation, each expressing their boredom on so quiet a night.

Tony finished his cigarette and flicked the butt across the parking lot, watching it shower sparks on the ground when it landed. This was the last thing he ever saw. As he stepped from the door, he was savagely struck from behind by Johnson and dropped like a stone. Within seconds the members of the Cult of Jaka, led by Brogan, appeared out of the darkness.

The stupefied Tony was dragged into a utility closet where his throat was cut, his body left hidden inside. Johnson led the way to the observation room only to discover all the security codes had been changed. "We'll need the Director's codes," he was saying just as the unsuspecting Harris walked in the opposite door.

The startled man was immediately descended upon by the red-robed Cult members and dragged over to Brogan, who ordered him to open the Seagate and release the Guardian. Meaning, of course, Jason.

"Look, Brogan," Harris said condescendingly, "even if I could, what makes you think I'd just release a valuable animal—" The rest of his words were cut off when Brogan speared him in the stomach with his ornate staff. Harris gasped and dropped to his knees, only to be dragged back to his feet by his captors.

"The Guardian is more than a mere animal!" the High Priest announced. "You will release him or die!"

Harris stared back in stupefied amazement, remembering how Alex had always called the Cult of Jaka a bunch of glorified mercenaries following their High Priest General. Now it seemed truer than he would have liked and he shrank back, shaking his head. "I can't! Only Dr. Albert has the authority now."

Johnson stepped forward. "He must know, Master. He's got every clearance going in this place. And—" he added pointedly, "he's the one who found the chest."

Brogan's eyes narrowed and he nodded to the others, who proceeded to beat the unfortunate scientist senseless before being satisfied he was telling the truth. The High Priest watched dispassionately as this violent act was carried out, calmly turning to Johnson when Harris was dumped in a battered heap on the floor. "It seems we'll need Dr. Albert's assistance after all," he said blandly.

Johnson went to the phone and called the Director's office. Despite the lateness of the hour, he knew she would be there. "Hello, Dr. Albert? This is Johnson," the traitor said in a concerned tone. "I'm glad you're still here. I'm in the observation room and Crystal's all wound up in a ball by the air—" He broke off when the line abruptly went dead. Turning to the others, he grinned evilly. "She's on her way."

Frankie arrived in record time and was breathless as she came bursting through the far door. She was taken aback by the assemblage in the room and cried out in alarm when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and hauled over to the waiting High Priest. Unaware of the fact that they had already killed one man, she was more outraged than frightened. "Now you've really gone too far, Brogan," she snapped. "And as for you, Johnson…"

"I know. I'm fired," the traitor replied blandly.

"Enough!" Brogan roared, feeling a though he had already lost control of the situation. "Dr. Albert, you will open the Seagate and release the Guardian."

"I'll do no such thing," she stated categorically. "Who the hell do you think you are coming in here and spouting orders? This is _my_ facility, Brogan."

The High Priest was momentarily stunned. He had never dealt with the Director one-on-one before, having always been confronted by Alex Grove at the same time. He had expected to dominate her with ease, having assumed her usual show of tenacity was upheld only by the formidable presence of her Security Chief. The last thing he expected was the reality of the defiant spitfire who stood before him.

Recovering himself immediately, Brogan ground his teeth in anger and struck Frankie savagely across the face with the back of his hand. "Open the Seagate or Harris dies!"

"You're mad," Frankie breathed in wide-eyed astonishment. "The whole lot of you. You're all mad. You really believe that Crystal's the guardian of some long lost treasure?"

Brogan pulled an ornamental knife from the top of his staff and glanced over at Harris. "Prepare him," he ordered.

The semi-conscious Harris was immediately spread-eagled on the floor, his arms and legs pinned by the Cult members.

"Alright! Alright!" Frankie exclaimed. "There's no need to hurt him anymore." Pulling away from her captors, she went to the master control board and slipped her card key into the slot, punching in the code that would open the Seagate. Turning to Brogan, she pointed to one of the switches near his hand. "Throw that and your Guardian will be out in two minutes."

The High Priest eyed her suspiciously. "Why two minutes?"

"That's how long it takes for the safety checks to run through," she replied wearily. She didn't tell him she had also tripped a silent alarm, but by the time the police arrived, Crystal would be gone. Dr. Albert turned her gaze to the main tank and its docile occupant, clenching her fists in rage and frustration. So unique a creature. So monumental a find. Here was the specimen that would have made all her struggles worthwhile, and it was about to be taken from her by a bunch of religious fanatics!

Frankie's reverie was broken when Johnson roughly grabbed her. "Alright, High Priest," she spat, "I've done what you wanted. Now leave us in peace."

The others were still holding down Harris and Brogan moved slowly over to him, kneeling just above his head. "Oh, we'll leave, Dr. Albert," he said in a taunting voice. "Just as soon as we've made our sacrifice to Jaka."

"What!" Frankie was horrified and watched helplessly as the knife was raised high into the air. "No! For God's sake, Brogan!" she screamed, struggling in vain to get free. Johnson clamped a hand firmly over her mouth to silence her and she watched in horror as the blade was plunged into the defenseless man on the floor. He screamed in agony, writhing against the hands that held him down. His body convulsed and a horrible gurgling came from his throat. Someone thrust a wad of cloth into his mouth to silence him before the "sacrifice" continued.

It was already too late. Carl had been making his rounds on the floor above when he heard Dr. Albert's shouts, his blood running cold when he heard Harris' death scream shortly thereafter. Not knowing what to do next, he ran to the stairs to try and find Johnson, finding a pool of blood coming from the utility room instead. Bracing himself, he looked inside, and what he found made him sick.

With difficulty, Carl pulled himself together, closing the door to the utility room. Alex's office was just down the hall, and he decided to try there first, praying the Security Chief was still in the building. It would be easier to find him than to go searching the building for Johnson—alone.

Dr. Albert tried to turn away but was forced to watch as the knife was passed from hand to hand. A second blow was delivered, then a third. With each thrust, Harris' muffled screams filled her ears. He strained against the weight on his extremities in a futile attempt to get free, yet the knife continued to plunge into his body. Even when it was obvious he was dead, Brogan went on with the ritual. From where Frankie stood, it was just killing for killing's sake.

All these goings on had quite naturally attracted Jason's attention. He observed the nightmarish scene in a detached stupor, not caring one way or the other. The beating of Harris had puzzled him, but not enough for him to bother about. He didn't think he liked it when Brogan slapped Frankie, but he was sure he didn't like it when Harris was brutally stabbed to death. In fact, he positively hated it.

It was this cold-blooded murder that finally rekindled the emotions that had lain dormant in Jason since his return to his right mind. He let out a number of angry and terrifying shrieks as he threw himself around the tank. It was an impressive display that went virtually unnoticed.

In tears and terrified, Dr. Albert had never dreamed Brogan would actually stoop to murder, and now it seemed an absolute certainty that she would be next. When the High Priest received the knife back, he looked in her direction and Johnson whispered in her ear, "Your turn, _Frankie_."


	6. Left For The Guardian

**CHAPTER 6**

**LEFT FOR THE GUARDIAN  
**

Johnson had used Alex's pet name to annoy Dr. Albert, which it did. In fact, it made her furious. She bit down on the hand over her mouth as hard as she could, causing Johnson to yelp in pain and loosen his grip. She managed to pull away and bolted towards the inner door. She was caught before she made it and received a savage blow that sent her flying. Momentarily stunned, she ended up on the floor.

It was Brogan who first noticed how agitated the Alterran had suddenly become, recalling Johnson's description of his arrival and subsequent attack on the research team. The High Priest had been planning to "sacrifice" Dr. Albert in the same manner as Harris, but Jason's impressive display caused him to change his mind on the method.

While Brogan was thinking, Frankie was fighting for her life, struggling wildly and screaming at the top of her lungs. Someone silenced her by jamming a gag into her mouth so large she thought she might choke. Finally she was spread-eagled on the floor and the Cultists looked expectantly over to their High Priest.

"You were warned about interfering with us, Dr. Albert," Brogan said coldly to the struggling captive. "It is written that no woman must touch the power of Jaka. Now—" He paused dramatically before saying, "it is for the Guardian to judge."

Frankie stared up at him in a combination of bewilderment and terror, struggling all the more when he ordered, "Tie her up. We'll let the Guardian have her."

* * *

Carl arrived at Alex's office only to find it empty. The Security Chief came strolling down the hallway a moment later and was shocked to see the visibly shaken man outside his office. It took several minutes for the burly man to collect himself before he could give an intelligible account of what had happened to put him in such a state.

"Where were you when you heard the yelling?" Alex asked.

"Near the—"

At that moment, Frankie's bloodcurdling screams resounded through the wing of the building. Alex Grove blanched visibly and spun around in the direction of the voice. "Frankie…" he breathed in horror.

* * *

Kicking and scratching the whole time, Frankie was turned face down on the floor and tightly bound hand and foot. She managed to pull the hoods from two of her attackers and was rewarded with another slap across the face by Johnson, who went on to drag her over to the airlock and roughly dump her inside.

Johnson took a diving belt, and with a sadistic smile on his face wrapped it around Frankie's waist and over her bound hands. He then shoved the helpless oceanographer onto her back, wrapping a second belt around her legs to make doubly certain she was completely weighted down.

In a last defiant stand, Frankie lashed out, kicking the traitor in the stomach. "You bitch!" he snarled, raising a fist to deliver what would have been a lethal blow. He stopped when someone across the room called, "Master, someone's coming!"

"Kill them," Brogan said calmly.

"No, Master, it might be Grove," Johnson called out. "Bolt the door, that'll delay him." Turning an icy look down at the cowering woman, he said, "And so will she. While he's trying to get her out, we can grab the chest and get out the back way."

Brogan nodded approvingly. "Do it," he commanded.

The main door was bolted shut only seconds before Alex and Carl arrived on the other side.

Johnson's eyes narrowed and he finished wrapping the weight belt around the legs of the bound and struggling woman. "You're going to buy us some time before you die, Frankie, my dear," he said coldly. Taking some straps from the wall that were used to hold extra equipment, he used them to suspend Frankie's diminutive figure more than a foot off of the ground. He then took the card key from her pocket, patting her cheek and exiting the airlock.

In tears and struggling, Dr. Albert watched helplessly as the door to her prison, and her fate, were sealed. With the flick of a switch, water started pouring in on her.

Johnson continued to flick switches, fusing the controls and ripping the airlock control panel out of the console. He waved it tauntingly at Frankie before smashing it on the floor. Now if whoever it was trying to break in the main door succeeded, they would be unable to reach the trapped oceanographer in time to save her.

While this was going on, the other Cult members were filing through the far door. Brogan threw the switch to the Seagate and went over to Johnson just as the circuitry smashed to the floor. Throwing a cold knowing look in Dr. Albert's direction, the High Priest gave a wry smile before following the others through the door, which was then jammed shut behind them.

Jason had been kicking up a fuss, and not really accomplishing anything other than throwing water in all directions. It was not until the bound Frankie was dragged into the airlock that Brogan's words sank in and he abruptly stopped his tantrum, completely confused. His mind was still a tangled mass of unanswered questions, yet deep down, he knew everything he had just witnessed was wrong. Horribly, terribly wrong. Unfortunately, his brain still was not functioning properly and thinking only caused it to fog over, leaving him hesitant and indecisive. Why would anyone think he would want to kill Dr. Albert? He felt no malice toward her, even if he _was_ her prisoner. And, well…she _did_ drug him rather heavily whenever her team did their work on him.

While Jason was trying to move through the thickening fog in his mind, Frankie was struggling to free her hands from behind her back. Unfortunately, the fine cord with which she was bound did nothing but cut into her wrists, and the belt Johnson had pulled over them secured them against her body. On top of that, the straps under her arms were pulling her hands apart and the bindings taut, making it almost impossible to move. With the addition of the weights, it would be impossible to float.

Frankie glanced at the access door and immediately stopped struggling, the sight of the hovering Alterran almost stopped her heart. Her eyes grew wide and she stared over at him, trying to decide if she should panic or not. Willing herself to be calm, she tried to think through her situation, such as; if she did manage to get loose, what would happen when the door opened? Would Crystal attack her? Would she even let her out of the airlock? And if she did, would she let her get to the surface or simply hold her underwater until she drowned? Closing her eyes, Frankie shuddered, wondering which would be worse, drowning, or being crushed to death by the powerful creature in the main tank.

At that moment, Alex and Carl managed to break down the door and were horrified by what they found inside the observation room. Alex's eyes fell on the occupant of the fast filling airlock. "Frankie!" He dashed over to the controls where he saw, to his added horror, that they had been completely destroyed. "Carl, how do you override the controls on the airlock?"

Carl didn't answer. He was standing in the doorway, transfixed by the sight of Harris' mutilated corpse. First Tony, now Harris, he thought, wondering uneasily who would be next. It was at that moment that he realized that, despite all the commotion, Johnson had yet to appear. He was snapped back to reality when Alex called again. Seeing the shredded control panel, he crossed to the main control board and tried several times to override the system without success. Puzzled, he checked all the readings and then caught his breath. "Alex, the Seagate's been opened!"

"Well, close it then!" Alex snapped impatiently.

"I can't! The controls have been fused." Looking up, Carl added, "Whoever did this knew what they were doing."

Aghast, Alex turned back to the struggling occupant of what was now a death chamber. The water was close to Frankie's waist and she had only succeeded in rubbing her wrists raw, being no closer to freeing herself than the two desperate figures on the outside. She watched helplessly as they tried to shut off the water, knowing it was impossible. It would only shut off now when the airlock was completely filled, and by then, she would be dead. She saw Alex trying to tell her something, but was unable to hear him above the roar of the water. She lip read as he said, "Don't worry, Frankie. We'll get you out," and motioned for her to stay calm. This only caused the trapped woman to laugh at the absurdity of it all. She wondered if she were getting hysterical, recalling how annoyed she'd been with him earlier. How silly it all seemed now. Seeing him repeat his message, she shook her head in resignation. _No, you won't_, she thought.

On the other side of the airlock, Dr. Albert's shake of the head was met with anything but resignation. "Carl, can we break the door open?" Alex asked in desperation.

"Alex, do you have any idea how much water is pushing up against that door? Unless we—"

"Blow the door."

Carl blinked. "What?"

"You heard me. Blow the door," the Security Chief repeated firmly.

"Alex, if that tank ruptures with the Seagate open, you'll flood the entire lower section of the building," Carl objected.

"I don't care! Dammit, Carl, I'm not going to just stand here and watch her drown, now blow the door!"

Once again their efforts were met with disaster when they discovered the rear door leading to the storerooms had also been jammed shut.

"Where are the maintenance crews?" the Security Chief asked, suddenly remembering that there should be more than just the two of them in the building.

Carl started heaving at the door. "At this hour, they'll be on dinner break on the other side of the building."

Cursing, Alex joined his partner in a futile attempt to reach the explosives before the water rose above Dr. Albert's head.

By this time Jason had concluded that it was now up to him. If he waited for the access door to open automatically, Frankie would drown. Winding his powerful tendrils around the door, he gave a mighty heave and tore it completely off its fittings. Water immediately surged through the opening, filling the airlock and submerging its helpless occupant, who was knocked senseless when the wall of water slammed into her.

Alex and Carl spun around when they heard the sound and watched in horror as the unconscious Frankie was entwined in the Alterran's tendrils and gently pulled into the main tank.

"Frankie!" Alex was beside himself and dashed to the observation window, pounding on it with his fists in desperation. "No! Crystal, no!"

Jason hesitated, uncertain as to whether he should leave Dr. Albert on the walkways or take her with him. The sight of Harris' mutilated corpse made up his mind for him. Pulling Frankie close, he promptly vanished into the tunnel leading to the open sea.

The Alterran's hesitation had caused Alex to hope Dr. Albert would be left behind. His hopes were dashed in a blink. The tank was empty and Frankie was gone forever. For several seconds he stood staring in shock, not quite believing it could be over so quickly. Closing his eyes, he sank slowly to the floor where his grief finally overtook him and he wept bitterly.


	7. Let Me Go

**CHAPTER 7**

"**LET ME GO…"**

Alex had no way of knowing Frankie was still very much alive. She returned to her senses just as Jason arrived at the end of the tunnel. Recognizing the area at once, she decided she was either dead, or had lost her grip on reality entirely. Even at low tide, the Seagate was a good ten feet underwater, yet she was still breathing! The sight of her captor returned her to reality with a jolt, her terror returning with a new set of complications. If she struggled now and was released, she would only succeed in drowning herself, since she was still securely bound and weighted down. But if she waited to see what her captor had in mind, she might be in for a fate far worse than drowning.

Jason was oblivious to the fact that Dr. Albert had returned to consciousness, being too busy watching some people on a concrete intake pipe above the surface of the water. The night sky had turned the sea inky black around him and the lights from the buildings made everything above the surface clearly visible.

The Center's alarm suddenly went off and floodlights came on, spotlighting the persons along the water's edge and causing Jason to withdraw into the shadows. He had recognized Johnson on the concrete above. It was obvious from the way the traitor was searching the water that he was waiting for the appearance of the Guardian and/or Dr. Albert's body.

Suddenly, finally, Jason's brain started working and he had a flash of inspiration. He immediately started to remove Dr. Albert's lab coat.

As the Alterran was watching the people on the concrete, Frankie was reflecting on how powerless she had been the day he pulled her underwater. Even with both hands, she couldn't loosen one of the tendrils. Now she was bound, gagged, and completely helpless. What would she do if…? Suddenly the tendrils started tearing at her clothes, and she gave a muffled cry of sheer terror.

Frankie's cry and subsequent, futile struggles immediately gained Jason's attention. They also broke his heart. The last thing he wanted was to frighten this battered woman further. Instead he only seemed to have succeeded in terrifying her more than ever. Having already committed himself, he removed the weight belt from around her waist and completed the job of shredding her coat. There was already a great deal of blood on it from the hands of her attackers, but just to make certain his red herring would work, Jason pressed some of the tattered material against the oceanographer's bleeding wrists before letting it go. The garment swirled and danced in the water as it was caught in the current of an intake, eventually becoming snagged on the grating.

"Now they'll know I'm dead," Frankie thought hopelessly as her coat was fished from the water. She watched as it was passed from person to person, her ID badge, which was still clipped to the pocket, being the center of attention.

Not really certain what to do next, Jason moved away from shore, his only thought being to get Frankie as far from the bright lights as possible. He moved slowly and determinedly deeper in the pitch-black water until he came upon a large protected area among the rocks. It was here that he finally stopped.

Jason was completely unaffected by the lack of visible light, being fully aware of his surroundings at all times. His powerful sensors could detect the slightest disturbance in the water, and identify its source. Nothing would be able to get close enough to harm his defenseless passenger.

Frankie, on the other hand, could see nothing more than the glowing crystalline eyes of the Alterran illuminated, which was not much. She had no way of knowing she was being taken to safety and had stopped struggling, having resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die. Eventually. She had been unable to stop crying, however, and was now trembling badly. When a tendril suddenly came up to her face she whimpered and flinched away. To her astonishment, the suffocating gag was carefully pulled from her mouth. Then the remaining weight belt was unlatched and dropped from her legs.

Jason paused, waiting to see if he had frightened Frankie with what he was doing. He was relieved when she didn't cry out or struggle again and hoped this meant she was starting to trust him. He loosened his grip to finish untying her, discovering the real reason she for her silence. She thought he was going to kill her.

"Please, God," she prayed softly, "if I'm to die, let it be quickly."

Her words were like a dagger though Jason's heart. "Oh, my dear Francesca," he said in a mournful tone, "_how_ do I convince you I mean you no harm?"

Without realizing, the Alterran had finally utilized a specialized portion of his communication center that translated his words into his own human sounding voice—and a language that Frankie understood.

Astonished, Dr. Albert's mouth fell open, her eyes growing wide. She tried several times to speak, but words failed her. Her reaction made the Alterran think he had frightened her again until she finally stammered out, "Yo…yo…you can…_talk!_"

"Do you understand me?" the equally astonished Jason gasped.

"Yes!"

By this time Frankie was trembling rather violently but even she herself couldn't tell if it was from relief, shock, fear, or all three.

Jason guessed it was probably fear and said gently, "Please, don't be afraid, Dr. Albert. I wouldn't hurt you for the world." He finished the job of releasing her from her bonds, moving further into the protection of the rocks.

It took several minutes for the overwhelmed oceanographer to calm down enough to speak again. She looked around herself in fear and then curiosity when she realized she was actually unfamiliar with the area. _Just how far down are we?_ she wondered. Her reverie was broken when the Alterran suddenly started to untangle his tendrils from around her. "These rocks will protect you on all sides," he said reassuringly.

Frankie was less than convinced and clutched desperately to stay close to him, fearing he was about to let her go. _Surely he knows I couldn't breathe underwater_, she thought, only to think again. After all, she had no idea how the amazing creature was keeping her alive. "No…don't. _Please_, don't," she said tearfully. "Yo…you don't understand. It's too deep. I…I'll die down here."

"I know you're afraid. But, _please_, believe me, I won't let you drown," Jason insisted in a quiet, soothing tone. "I won't let anything happen to you, Dr. Albert, I promise. Please, you _must_ trust me." The frightened woman continued to cling tightly to him, and, not wanting to add to her panic, Jason wound his tendrils around her, gently supporting her in the water. "Is that better?"

Still very much afraid, Frankie nodded almost timidly as she tried desperately to get control of herself. After a long silence, she asked the one question uppermost in her mind, "Who—_What?_—are you?"

When her strange companion did not respond, Dr. Albert felt a panicky feeling starting on the pit of her stomach. "Ar…are you…the Guardian?" she stammered out.

"No," the Alterran replied sharply. "Not if it means what I think it does. And if I am, then I resign."

Dr. Albert was justifiably puzzled. "What do you mean _if_ you are?"

Jason's bright eyes dulled slightly. "The truth is, I don't know. I don't remember anything before I woke up in your main tank. I don't even know how got there."

Frankie was stunned. "You don't remember any of it?"

"Not a thing."

"Well, you certainly made a memorable impression on my staff," she snorted.

Jason's eyes dulled even further. "I know. I heard about it every time I was drugged," he sighed. "You really didn't need to drug me, you know. And I tried to…" Sighing again, he said, "Well, anyway, it's all a blank. I don't remember attacking anyone. All I remember is waking up trapped in that tank."

Jason felt Frankie suddenly stiffen in his grasp and knew he had frightened her again, but because his mind wasn't back to normal, he could not for the life of him think what he had said to scare her. Choosing not to make the situation worse, he changed the subject, and his tone of voice. "I should probably point out that I'm not a she."

"You're sure of that?" Dr. Albert said shakily, trying her best to keep her voice light and herself from going to pieces.

"Quite sure," came the amused reply, his crystalline sensors sparkling brightly once again. "So, I guess you'll just have to call me Chris and throw me back after all."

Frankie smiled self-consciously, lowering her eyes. After a minute, she shook her head in amazement. "I can't believe I'm actually sitting here listening to you talk. It's just so…so incredible."

Jason chuckled. "My dear Francesca, I've been talking to you for days. It's just that, for some reason, you can finally understand what I'm saying."

"How do you know my name?"

Jason was momentarily thrown. "Your name?"

"You've called me Francesca twice. Nobody ever calls me that. So how do you know it?"

"It was on your ID badge."

Now it was Frankie's turn to be thrown. "My ID badge?"

"Yes, you know," the Alterran said patiently. "Dr. Francesca Albert, Director. Security Level 9. I must've seen it a dozen times a—"

"You can _read_, too!" the oceanographer gasped. "I can't… I mean…This is incredible!" She leaned back slightly to look at him and winced, her sore muscle making themselves known in a very painful way. She had calmed down enough for her metabolism to begin returning to normal, and she was starting to ache all over.

"What's the matter?"

"I hurt."

Considering the fight she had put up, Jason was not in the least surprised, especially since he'd already noticed she was developing some very large bruises.

As Dr. Albert shifted position, she suddenly realizing where she was; several fathoms underwater, in a cocoon of tendrils, and at the mercy of…of…what? These thought brought her panic back in full force. Was this creature simply toying with her? Had he untied her just to maneuver her into staying his prisoner underwater? He had already admitted to knowing that to let her go would mean certain death. If she provoked him, would he crush her, or simply let her drown? He could do either so easily, and she was so completely helpless trapped in his coils. He might be gentle and soft-spoken now, but how long would it last?

"Please let me go—" Biting off her words, Frankie quickly corrected herself, "I mean, take me back."

"What?" Jason was stunned.

"I…I didn't mean to keep you a prisoner," she went on shakily. "I didn't realize…You understand that, don't you? I didn't hurt you, did I? I mean…I never meant to…to…" Unable to go on, Frankie collapsed into tears.

"What are you talking about?" the bewildered Alterran asked. It wasn't until she hid her face in her hands that her meaning was clear. "My Lord… You're still afraid of me," he breathed. "You still think I'm going to hurt you, don't you?"

The terrified oceanographer made no answer, going rigid when Jason gently pulled her hands from her face, a small sob escaping her. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was still very much afraid of what he might do. She was also completely exhausted, the strain of the last few hours having taken their toll on her nerves. She looked into the blue crystal eyes of her captor, wishing she could read them. Was he angry with her? Those blue lights looked so angry.

"Please…please, let me go," Frankie begged, tears rolling down her face.

Heaving a resigned sigh, Jason reached up to remove the rag that had been used to gag her, causing her to cry out in alarm. As she flinched away, Frankie noticed the bright eyes seemed to go dull. Perhaps she could read him after all. Suddenly the rag was gently drying her face. "Please, stop crying," Jason said imploringly. "Please. You're breaking my heart. I won't hurt you, _I promise_." So saying, he slowly began moving through the water.

Trembling and still petrified, Frankie nodded, trying to pull herself together once again. The cloth was suddenly thrust into her hand and she was told, "Blow your nose."


	8. What Do You Want Of Me?

**CHAPTER 8**

"**WHAT DO YOU WANT OF ME?"**

Frankie laughed in spite of herself and accepted the rag. She was surprised to find it dry and then realized, but for her tears, her face was dry, too. Looking up sharply, she was about to comment on this when she noticed they were moving through the water. In as even a tone as possible, she asked, "Wh…where…are you taking me?"

"I'm taking you back," came the calm reply. "You're obviously still terrified of me. And that's the last thing I want." Unwinding all but a few of his tendrils from around her, Jason began slowly rising to the surface. "Now blow your nose," he added firmly.

Giving him a self-conscious smile, Frankie did as she was told, wiping away her tears at the same time.

"I truly am sorry if I frightened you," the Alterran went on in the same calm, soothing voice. "I never intended you to think I was punishing you for keeping me prisoner. I don't blame you for not understanding. Honestly, I don't."

"Oh, I don't know what to think anymore," Dr. Albert sighed resignedly. "I'm so tired. And I hurt all over," she moaned, rubbing her bruised and shredded wrists.

"I'm not surprised." Indicating her wrists, the Alterran said, "You'd better get those lacerations seen to when you get back. They could become infected if you're not careful."

"Now you're starting to sound like—" Frankie caught her breath. "—a doctor."

Puzzled by her expression, Jason stopped moving. "What's the matter?"

"I've just remembered. There was this man at the Center tonight. He said he could tell me all about you."

"What man? When?"

"He called himself the Doctor," Frankie went on. "To tell you the truth, I thought he was a nut. Now I'm not so sure. He said that, if what he suspected were true, then you were more than just a new form of marine life."

The Alterran gave an amused grunt. "That's probably the understatement of the century."

"He's coming back in the morning to see me. And you."

Jason was skeptical. "Are you sure he wasn't just one of High Priest Brogan's murderous minions trying to throw you off?"

Dr. Albert did a double take. "Y'know, for a creature from the sea, you certainly have a phenomenal vocabulary."

"Haven't you heard?" Jason grunted. "We travel in schools." So saying, he resumed his rise to the surface.

Again, Frankie laughed in spite of herself, and this time Jason felt her relax slightly. Perhaps she was starting to trust him after all.

"As for this doctor," Frankie went on, "I'm sure he wasn't a part of…eh, tonight. He didn't seem the type. He struck me as being very well educated, and not without some intelligence."

Breaking the surface at last, Dr. Albert looked around in amazement. They were further from shore than she expected, yet she could still make out the Freeland Center, which would have been difficult to miss. There were a dozen or so police and emergency vehicles around the main building, their red and blue lights flashing wildly against the night sky.

"Incredible…" she breathed.

Once the initial shock of the spectacle on land had passed, all Frankie wanted to do was swim towards it as fast as she could. She did not try, however, fearing she might provoke the fearsome creature holding her.

Oblivious to the fact that his companion was contemplating escape, Jason slowly started towards shore. After only a minute, he stopped short, and actually backed up slightly.

These few short minutes above the surface had done wonders in restoring Dr. Albert's confidence. She suddenly realized she wasn't nearly as frightened as she had been in the unfamiliar blackness of the ocean depths. "Now look," she said firmly, "you promised to take me back."

The Alterran's sensors glowed more fiercely than she had ever seen before, and for a single, terrifying instant, Frankie felt sure she had provoked him to anger. She was relieved, therefore, when the reply came in the same calm voice as before, "I also said I wouldn't let anything happen to you," Jason reminded. "Don't you know who that man is? The one standing where they fished out your coat."

The puzzled oceanographer squinted in an unsuccessful attempt to even see the person he meant. "No," she said at last.

"He was with Brogan and the others tonight," Jason informed startlingly. "He's one of the ones you pull a hood off of."

"What? How can you possibly tell from this distance?"

Now it was Jason's turn to be puzzled, his amnesia having blocked the knowledge of his own incredible powers. "I can see him perfectly, can't you?"

"No, I can't," came the relieved reply. Looking up at the sky, Frankie added, "And he won't be able to see us, either. Not as long as the moon stays behind those clouds."

* * *

Inside the Freeland Center, Alex Grove had been giving the police a complete account of the evening's events as far—as he knew them. The main building was swarming with investigators by this time and he reflected wistfully on how upset Frankie would have been with all these strangers tromping around upsetting her fish.

A uniformed officer came into the room and interrupted the interview just as Alex felt he was about go to pieces again. The welcome delay gave him a chance to collect himself. As the officials conferred for several minutes, he sat staring out the window, wishing he'd had the courage to tell Frankie exactly how he felt about her. He'd had so many opportunities to do so, and now… Now it was too late.

* * *

Out in the ocean, Frankie was having similar thoughts. What was going on in her Center? And how was Alex taking it? As far as he knew, she was dead. They all thought she was dead. But she didn't seem to care about that. If only she could let _Alex_ know she was alright.

Frankie was so lost in thought she actually forgot where she was and jumped when Jason gently asked, "Is there anywhere—?" Breaking off, he quickly apologized for startling her. "I seem to frighten you no matter what I do," he sighed. "Do you _still_ want to go back? I'm not about to go near the place again, but I won't stop you." So saying, he released the dumbfounded woman, leaving only one tendril loosely wrapped around her waist to keep her above water.

Frankie's first inclination was to get as far away as possible before he changed his mind. Pulling away, she swam as fast as she could for several yards before finally slowing down. Dry land was still some distance away and she did not want to wear herself out. Luckily, she had two things on her side. She was a strong swimmer, and the sea was calm. Throwing a quick, nervous glance back to make certain she was not being pursued, she continued toward shore in earnest.

Jason watched as the oceanographer swam away, an overwhelming feeling of sadness and isolation washing over him. Without her, he was completely cut off and totally alone. He didn't think he could feel any worse until he saw the terrified look Frankie threw back at him. Heaving a sigh that sounded very much like a sob, he silently submerged.

As Frankie drew nearer to the shore, she saw, to her horror, that Jason had been right all along. The man on the intake was one of the men who'd attacked her. Her heart jumped when she saw Alex and she was about to call to him when Johnson suddenly appeared. If she called out now, she felt certain the men would kill both her and Alex. Unable to bear this thought, she turned back, letting out a small cry of alarm when she saw the Alterran was gone. She swam back to where she'd left him, floundering in the water in a panic. "No! Don't leave me!" she cried, searching the water frantically. "Crystal, where are you? Come back! Please, come—"

Frankie let out a scream when something touched her bare ankle. A second later, she was unceremoniously yanked beneath the waves.

* * *

On shore, Alex looked sharply as what sounded like scream drifted in across the water. He stood perfectly still, straining to hear the familiar voice once more.

"Mr. Grove, are you quite all right?" came a polite voice from behind him.

Alex came to his senses with a jolt. "What…? Oh, yes, I'm…I'm fine, Detective. It's just…I could've sworn I heard…" Shaking his head, he turned to go inside. "Just my imagination."

The Detective nodded understandingly, a sinister smile coming to his face. He exchanged a knowing look with Johnson and then turned his gaze back to the black water below.

Things were going even better than they'd planned.

* * *

"Quiet!" Jason scolded as he pulled Frankie underwater. "Do you want the whole world to know we're out here?" He had been keeping a close watch on her from below the surface and was appalled when she suddenly started shouting.

"I…I thought…you'd abandoned me," she responded shakily.

The Alterran was so incredulous he used her pet name without realizing. "Frankie, you begged me to let you go. You pleaded with me, remember? I'm some horrible monster who—"

"I'm sorry, okay!"

"Sorry! I have feelings too—" Jason cut himself off, his voice suddenly filled with concern. "Frankie, you're trembling."

Dr. Albert looked down at the hands the Alterran held so gently, clasping them together to try and steady herself. "You were right," she said finally. "I can't go back. They'll kill me, if I do."

"So, what do we do now?" Jason asked practically.

"I don't know!" Frankie cried helplessly. "I'm so tired."

Being careful not to startle her, the Alterran gently entwined the exhausted woman once more. "Dr. Francesca Albert, what do you want of me? I'll do what ever you ask. It's just…I don't know how to help you. _Please,_ tell me."

Drawing a deep breath Frankie tried to think, finally shaking her head. "I just want to go home," she muttered.

"Home…" Jason echoed softly. "I can't take you there."

Dr. Albert looked up sharply, a knowing smile coming to her face. "Oh yes, you can," she replied happily. She lived in a beach house located several miles down coast, and he could easily take her there without anyone seeing them. And since she was supposed to be dead, no one would be around to bother her.

Pleased to finally be of assistance, Jason started along the coastline, following the directions to the letter. He tried not to make any sudden movements that would startle his already nervous passenger and traveled much slower than he was able to. He felt Frankie's body relax and hoped it meant she was beginning to trust him, which, in fact, she was. His gentle, soothing voice was hypnotic, and the more he spoke to her, the more relaxed she became. She suddenly felt strangely secure in his embrace, the gentle rocking motions caused by their progress through the water soothing her frazzled nerves.

Within a few minutes, and without realizing, the exhausted Dr. Albert drifted off to sleep.


	9. Who Am I?

**CHAPTER 9**

"**WHO AM I?"**

Several miles in the opposite direction, the TARDIS sat in a wooded area just off a quiet strip of beach. The Doctor was in the control room pouring over the information he had gathered on the Cult of Jaka, which had its roots in Teggellan mythology.

As the story went, Jaka was the very powerful god of Water and Light. So powerful, in fact that many of his fellow gods feared he would one day become the preeminent force and destroy them all. To avoid this, they joined forces to destroy him first. The ensuing power struggle erupted into a full-blown war, ending with a great battle on Teggell.

The attacking deities were unable to destroy the mighty Jaka, many of the lesser gods being destroyed in the conflict. It was not until those who remained combined their powers in a single effort that the powerful god of Water and Light was overwhelmed and imprisoned. Those who had remained faithful to him were slaughtered out of vengeance by his jealous (and less than divine) brother gods. It was only when the carnage ended that it was discovered Jaka had managed to outwit his enemies, having been able to hide the source of his great power before he was overtaken. The victorious gods searched in vain but were unable to find what had been the true reason for their attack; control of the source of ultimate power. The captive deity mocked their efforts, revealing that he had placed the coveted power source under the protection of a fierce Guardian. Only those loyal to him would ever be able to locate the power source and appease its Guardian, who would in turn release him from bondage.

The Doctor stopped reading and tossed the volume aside. "Superstitious rubbish," he muttered. He then started reading about the newly revived following of the mythical deity, which proved far more interesting. Apparently Brogan was an historian of questionable repute who had been trying to trace the origins of the ancient myth of Jaka. He had even gone so far as to buy the ancient and overgrown Temple of Jaka, as well as an extensive portion of land surrounding it. The structure was perched atop an almost sheer cliff and completely isolated, making it, Brogan claimed, an excellent spot for undisturbed research, his having set up the Temple as his base of operations.

This all seemed very straightforward to the Doctor, who was wondering by this time what all the fuss was about. He picked up what he'd been told was a very controversial book about the Cult that had, by a serendipitous coincidence, only just been published. He read on…

Approximately two years ago, Brogan suddenly seemed to go over the edge, declaring himself the High Priest of the Temple of Jaka, God of Water and Light. A secret society then sprang into being, its members publicly shielding their identities behind red hoods and under long robes. A trail of violence always seemed to follow the movements of the Cult, but nothing could ever be linked directly to them, giving birth to the rumors that some of the members were highly placed individuals who protected the others by covering up or destroying any incriminating evidence.

The Doctor found this information fascinating and deeply unsettling. He studied the photograph of the Cult's hooded devotee on the book's cover, shaking his headA fine collection of corrupt, power-hungry bureaucrats, he thought darkly, and led by a bloodthirsty maniac who believed himself omnipotent.

Sitting back, the Doctor thought further. If Jason's mind was still clouded by fever or the aftereffects of Draconian Flu, he might be inclined to believe all this Guardian rubbish. Especially when one took into consideration the fact that his own father had dubbed him, "The Guardian of the Krystovans." Jason's current powers, while still developing, were formidable and if he believed himself to be this mythical Guardian, the results could be disastrous.

Rubbing his eyes, the Doctor pushed the papers aside. That was enough for one night, he thought. He turned down the lights in the console room, crossing to a wall near the inner door and touching a button. A panel slid open and a bed came noiselessly out of the opening. Stretching out on the bed, the Time Lord closed his eyes. What ever the truth turned out to be, he had no doubt he would find out what he needed to know when he returned to the Freeland Center in the morning.

* * *

As soon as Dr. Albert dozed off Jason seized the opportunity to see just how seriously she had been injured, finding her more bruised than anything else. He took the rag he had used to dry her eyes and tore it into strips, wrapping them loosely around her wrists, which seemed to have suffered the worst during her ordeal.

When he eventually arrived at a place similar to the inlet that had been described to him, Jason wondered how to best wake the peacefully sleeping woman without frightening the wits out of her again. Deciding there was no way of avoiding it, he nudged her gently. "You can wake up now, Frankie," he said softly. "You're home."

Frankie stirred and the Alterran repeated himself. Opening her eyes, she did exactly what he thought she would. She caught her breath and went rigid with fear.

"I think this is the place, isn't it?" Jason asked gently.

Dr. Albert blinked, her mind momentarily blank. Then the evening's events came flooding back and she put a hand to her head, rubbing her eyes. "Did I faint?" she asked at last.

"No," came the amused reply. "You fell asleep."

Jason surfaced, allowing her to look around. Frankie was delighted to see they were indeed in the right place and pointed out her darkened and deserted beach house.

Jason carried Frankie out of the surf and part of the way up the beach, having convinced her that he would be perfectly fine out of the water. He returned her to her feet, supporting her as she made her way unsteadily towards her back porch. They were within a few feet of it when Jason suddenly felt lightheaded. He was still physically weakened from his illness, and all the sudden, strenuous activity had come very close to exhausting him. He stopped short and hovered unsteadily in the air.

"Are you alright?" Dr. Albert asked concernedly, thinking he needed to return to the sea immediately.

Back on dry land, and in his usual element, the Alterran automatically transmuted to his human form. His legs were very wobbly, however, and he sank to his knees, a hand to his whirling head. "I don't know…" he said faintly. "I feel so…dizzy all of a sudden."

Frankie let out a cry of alarm. She backed away, tripped over a partially buried chunk of wood, and fell over backwards.

Jason looked up in alarm and crawled over to her. "Frankie, are you alright?"

"Keep away from me!" she cried, crawling backwards to get away. Her ankle got caught in the wood and she tugged at it in a panic. "Keep away! Don't touch me!"

"What? Is this the thanks I get for—?"

The clouds overhead parted just as Jason was reaching out to her and he saw his own human hand in the moonlight. He caught his breath, staring at it in mute astonishment before looking down at himself. His hand then went to his face as he turned to Dr. Albert; wide-eyed, speechless and white as a sheet. "How…? How…?" he stammered out finally, sitting back in the sand. He started to tremble and Frankie suddenly realized he had shocked himself just as badly as he had shocked her. Perhaps even more so.

Taking a deep breath, Frankie disengaged her foot and went over to the distraught young man. "Now it's my turn to come to the rescue," she muttered as she took him by the hand, finding, to her added amazement, that he was completely dry. She, on the other hand, was still dripping. Leading the way into the house, she sat the shaken youth in a chair in the living room. "I'm going to get cleaned up. Don't move. I'll be right back."

Receiving a weak smile in reply, she said forcefully, "Don't go anywhere," and left the room.

"Where would I go?" Jason muttered dejectedly. He looked around the room, seeing a mirror on the far wall. He went over to it, seeing the face of a stranger reflected in the glass. "_Who are you?_" he asked forcefully. Sighing heavily, he turned to go back to the living room, stopping when his attention was caught by something vaguely familiar in the next room. A glimmer of hope sprang up in his heart and he went in to investigate.

Frankie showered and changed quickly, feeling more like her old self now that she was clean, dry and home. She rummaged for her first aid kit and returned to the living room, discovering, to her dismay, that the shape changing stranger was gone.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, dashing to the open porch door.

"That was fast," came a calm voice from behind her.

Frankie spun around to see Jason standing it the doorway to the kitchen, a steaming mug in his hand.

"Oh, thank goodness," she sighed relievedly. "I thought you'd gone."

"Have you _finally_ made up your mind?" the young man asked wearily. "First you want me to go, then you want me to stay." He sat down on the couch and asked pointedly, "Where would I go, anyway? You're the only friend I've got, and you're afraid to even be in the same room with me."

There was more truth in this statement than Dr. Albert cared to admit. Sitting down, she noticed for the first time that he was still shaking and she put a hand on his arm. "You're trembling," she said concernedly.

"I'm scared," Jason admitted finally. The terror in his eyes stunned the oceanographer, who was momentarily at a loss for words. "Who am I?" he went on shakily. "_What_ am I? I…I don't even know myself."

"You really are scared, aren't you?" Frankie said almost unbelievingly.

"Of course, I'm scared, Frankie. I was supposed to _kill_ you tonight. They were so sure I would, and…who's to say that…that later I won't—" Unable to go on, Jason put his head in his hands. Now that he didn't have Frankie to worry about, his own situation came crashing down on him; his devastating isolation and terror concerning his true identity. Was he a man, or was he that horrible creature? The killer they all thought him to be.

This was all too much for the exhausted Alterran to bear and he finally broke down. "Oh, God, help me," he moaned, collapsing into tears.

Frankie put a consoling arm around the trembling young man, marveling at how terribly vulnerable he seemed. _How could I ever have been afraid of him?_ she wondered, wishing there were more she could do for him than just hold him and dry his tears.


	10. Conversations

**CHAPTER 10**

**CONVERSATIONS**

"I'm sorry," Frankie said at last. "It's my fault you feel this way. You saved my life, and all I've done is push you away."

Drawing a deep breath, Jason sat up and wiped the tears from his face, smiling weakly. "No, it's not your fault," he said softly. "You were too terrified to think. And I've been in limbo too long for my brain to work properly."

"Maybe you'll feel better if you eat something," Dr. Albert suggested. Rising to her feet, she headed toward the kitchen.

"That's alright. I've already made coffee."

The woman across the room stopped dead in her tracks and spun around, seeing him reach for his mug. "You made…" Unable to take this in, she went to the kitchen, seeing the freshly brewed coffee steaming in its pot on the counter. "You made coffee!" she gasped.

"I just said that."

"He still doesn't see it," she muttered, shaking her head. Frankie filled an ice bag and then poured herself a cup of what turned out to be excellent coffee. Returning to the living room she found the young man investigating the contents of her first aid kit and wondered just what else he could do. Sitting down beside him, she held the ice bag to her face with one hand and offered him the other, or more accurately, her raw and badly discolored wrist. "Do you think you could wrap this for me?" she asked casually. "I'm afraid I only have two hands."

Jason gave her a sideways glance before obliging. Then, without realizing, the physician in him took over. He took what he needed from the box and quickly treated and dressed the injury. Dr. Albert was astonished at his speed and dexterity and checked herself as she was about to comment on this. _Perhaps this will help him remember something about himself,_ she thought. Not wanting to break his concentration, she said nothing until he was finished. "You've certainly done_ that_ before." Her tone left no doubt that she was clearly impressed.

Jason gave a self-conscious half smile, lowering his eyes. "They really did a number on you, didn't they? Barbarians," he said darkly. Looking up, he added, "You should've kicked him in the teeth instead of the stomach."

Now it was Frankie's turn to be embarrassed, and she cleared her throat. "Actually, I…uh, wasn't aiming that high."

The Alterran's eyes lit up and then a broad smile spread across his handsome face. For the first time, Frankie saw him genuinely smile. "Dr. Francesca Albert, you are a tiger, there's no doubt of that," he grinned admiringly.

With her injuries now bandaged, Frankie sat back, lowering the ice bag to scrutinize the amazing person who sat beside her. "Do you _really_ want me to call you Chris?" she asked pointedly.

"You might as well," the young man sighed. He reached over, returning the ice pack to her face. "And you'd better keep that on, if you don't want that eye swollen shut in the morning."

Dr. Albert did as she was told and then drew a deep breath. "Alright, Chris," she said seriously, "what, _exactly_, do you know about yourself? Just how much do you remember?"

"Very little."

Jason went on to relate to the intrigued woman the full extent of his memory loss. He only vaguely remembered coming to his senses on what must have been his third day in the tank. He told her of his strange detachment from reality and clouded thinking, his mind only seeming to have started functioning properly that very evening. And yet even now everything wasn't completely clear. "I _knew_ you'd be alright with me underwater," he admitted in bewilderment, "but I don't know _how_ I knew."

"You saved my life," Frankie said gratefully. "And all I've done is make you feel uncomfortable because of it."

"Now don't start that again."

"It's true, isn't it?"

"Well…" the young man said evasively, lowering his eyes again. "I think…it's very likely you're the one who saved my life. I must've been sick, or hurt, or something the day I was found." Looking up, he shook his head in bewilderment. "Why else would I be so…so… violent? And why was I _green?_"

Without thinking, Dr. Albert replied, "Maybe it's because you're—" Suddenly realizing what she was about to say, she bit off her own words, but it was already too late.

"Maybe it's because I really _am_ the Guardian?" the young man said soberly. Receiving a hesitant nod in reply, he sighed heavily. "I've thought of that, too. And I don't like the idea anymore than you do."

"It would explain an awful lot about you if it were true," Frankie muttered thoughtfully. See ing the youth's pained and frightened expression, she waved a hand dismissively. "What am I saying? It's a myth. Your being found now is just a coincidence. You couldn't possibly be the Guardian. That would make you more than ten thousand years old."

There was a long and awkward silence before Jason finally asked, "Can you tell me about it? This Guardian? What does it have to do with those men at the Center tonight?"

"Oh Lord, where do I start?" Frankie replied, rolling her eyes. She told Jason of the ancient myth of Jaka and the war of the gods, explaining about the lost power source entrusted to the Guardian for protection. She then told him of the more recent events including the appearance of the self-proclaimed High Priest Brogan and his secretive Cult.

"There are supposed to be clues as to the whereabouts of the lost power somewhere around the Temple," Dr. Albert was saying. "Supposedly, only the faithful can decipher the clues and thereby appease the Guardian, who is then supposed to release the imprisoned Jaka and restore his power to him."

Jason scowled. "And Brogan believes all this nonsense?"

"Probably not. He believes there's some kind of treasure, though. He's been going over every square inch of that crumbling old Temple with a magnifying glass for the last three years, and hasn't found anything that could even remotely be considered a power source."

"No. You did," came the startling reply.

"What?"

"Or more accurately, Mr. Harris did." Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Jason reminded, "Frankie, the chest."

Putting her head in her hands, the tired and bruised woman moaned, "Oh, I've been such a fool. Of course. The chest. I should've realized that's what they were after all along." It suddenly occurred to her that he shouldn't even know about it and she asked him pointblank how he did.

"How do I…?" The Alterran blinked. "Frankie, I was there when they put you in the airlock, remember? Johnson said something about grabbing 'the chest' and getting out the back way. And before you arrived, he told Brogan that Harris was the one who'd found it."

"And Brogan said I was condemned because I'd touched the power of Jaka," she concluded, giving the young man an admiring look. "You know? You're very observant—"

"For a creature from the sea?" Jason ventured innocently.

Dr. Albert smiled. "Something like that."

After a brief pause, Jason said thoughtfully, "Maybe I should have a look at this Temple. It might shed some light on who I am. And, hopefully, who I am not."

Frankie nodded slowly, the expression on her face puzzling the young man beside her. Without looking up, she said, "I wish I knew how to contact that doctor. Maybe he could tell you—"

"What? About this?" Jason interrupted. "Look at me. Do you honestly believe he could've known about this?"

"Who knows, Chris? After tonight, I'll believe anything."

* * *

The Doctor arrived for his appointment with Dr. Albert to find the Freeland Center in chaos. There was a mob of reporters accosting the Center's Assistant Director and several police officers trying to maintain some kind of order. They were failing miserably. In fact, they were so busy trying to keep the media at bay that they failed to notice the Doctor, who gave the gathering a wide berth and entered the building unchallenged.

The Time Lord assumed the bedlam that was slowly becoming a press conference had been brought on by a demonstration of the lunatic fringe Dr. Albert had mentioned the night before. He suspected it to be something more serious when he was ushered into the office of the Chief of Security.

"I'm afraid I'm a little in the dark, Mr. Grove," the Time Lord was saying. "Dr. Albert was to've informed you I was expected."

It had been a very long and trying night, every hour having etched itself on Alex's usually bright and cheerful face. He had managed to catch a few hours sleep on the couch in his office, but was still very torn up inside and found it difficult to stay in control of his emotions at times. Drawing a deep breath, he said in a strained voice, "The Center was broken into last night, Doctor. Two men were murdered, and Dr. Albert is missing…and presumed dead."


	11. Do You Expect Me To Believe That?

**CHAPTER 11**

"**DO YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?"**

The Doctor was appalled. "What?" he gasped, taking a seat across from the distraught Security Chief. "Do you know who it was?"

Alex shook his head. "Too soon to say. But if you ask me, that Cult was behind it. One of my men chased someone in the parking lot just before the alarm sounded. Unfortunately, he didn't get a good look at him."

"And the authorities think Dr. Albert was abducted?"

Fighting to stay in control, Alex said, "No. She…" Swallowing hard, he said, "She was carried out to sea when Crystal escaped."

"_What?"_ The Doctor could not believe what he was hearing. He had finally managing to locate his companion, only to lose him again overnight. "Are you telling me that h—I mean, Crystal, actually killed her?"

"If you mean did Crystal kill her outright, the answer is, no. But—" Alex paused, his voice becoming shaky as he said, "She'd've drowned anyway. The bastards had her tied up and weighted down with diving belts." Covering his face as the scene replayed itself in his mind for what seemed the thousandth time, he moaned, "There's no way she could've survived."

Being familiar with the Alterran's extraordinary powers, the Time Lord wasn't nearly so pessimistic. "Perhaps…" he said enigmatically.

The Security Chief looked up sharply, suddenly feeling very angry. "What do you mean _perhaps!_ I saw it with my own eyes! We found her lab coat on one of the intakes near the Seagate. It was in shreds and covered with blood."

"How very convenient," the Time Lord remarked in a sarcastic tone. "A tad contrived, but I suppose one must make allowances for illness."

Alex was in no mood for the Doctor's usual, and infuriating, vagueness. "Now look, Doctor," he began threateningly, getting to his feet, "if you know anything about this…"

The Doctor held up his hands, looking innocently at the man behind the desk who was glaring at him with a distinct air of suspicion. "Mr. Grove, I can assure you, I had nothing to do with the events of last night. But if I'm right in my suspicions—and there seems every indication that I am—then I can also assure you that there's a very good chance Dr. Albert is still very much alive."

"What! Now look—"

The Doctor cut him off, calmly asking, "What color was Crystal last night?"

Alex was completely thrown by this sudden non sequitur. "What color?"

"It's a simple enough question, surely? Was it green, by any chance?"

"Well, no, actually, she was sort of a cream color. She was green when they brought her in, but started changing color about two days ago."

The Doctor was ecstatic and sprang to his feet. "This is excellent! Then I _was_ right." Turning to the baffled Security Chief, he smiled broadly. "Things are looking up, Mr. Grove."

"Doctor, what _are_ you talking about?"

"I think you'd better sit down," the Time Lord grinned. "I'm going to tell you what I'd planned to tell Dr. Albert. And I should probably warn you…you won't believe a word of it."

* * *

Miles away, Crystal—now known as Chris—was sitting out on Dr. Albert's back porch, sipping a mug of coffee and brooding about himself. He had slept badly, when he had slept at all, his rest being invaded by numerous swirling images, unfamiliar emotions and a vague half-memory of rage and hatred. He had no idea if these were genuine memories or nightmares. What if the awful murderous rage he'd dreamt about was the reality of his true self trying to break through, he thought fearfully. Finally giving up trying to sleep at all, Jason made a quick check on Frankie to satisfy himself that he hadn't tried to kill her in his sleep. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found her still sleeping peacefully in her room.

With nothing else to do, he made another pot of coffee, marveling at the same time at how natural so many things seemed to him. Going out onto the porch, the Alterran watched as dawn broke, wondering uneasily what the new day would bring. What if he really was the Guardian after all? Could he live with himself after the experiences of the last few days? Would he even remember them? Worse yet, what if he wasn't the Guardian? Who was he, then? How did he get into the state that caused him to be so abruptly washed ashore?

Closing his eyes, Jason sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. It was no use. All this thinking was just giving him a headache. He decided to just think about the beautiful morning and give his own identity crisis a rest. At least until Frankie woke up.

* * *

At the Freeland Center, the one person who could answer all of Jason's questions had just fin ished his explanation to the incredulous Security Chief.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe any of that nonsense?" Alex exploded. "I've got enough crazies running around claiming Crystal's some ancient mythical beast without you adding to it. A shape shifter! I've never heard such utter nonsense." He was on his feet, beside himself in anger. "The next thing you'll be telling me is you're from another planet."

The Doctor's eyes flickered and he smiled knowingly. He sat patiently listening to the ranting Teggellan, completely unruffled by his tempestuous outburst. "I did say you wouldn't believe me," he said mildly.

"And you were right!"

"It's always easier if one keeps an open mind," the Time Lord remarked sarcastically.

Alex's eyes narrowed. A thought struck him and he decided to press the issue. "Okay then, tell me this. If Crystal really was this friend of yours, why didn't she—he—let us know?"

"Well, aside from the fact that he was ill, he wouldn't've revealed himself to you or anyone else. He simply would've escaped as soon as he was well enough to manage it." Pausing, the Doctor added, "Which would've left you with another mystery on your hands, wouldn't it?"

Alex chose not to respond.

"That's why I asked if he'd changed color. It means he's back to normal, so to speak."

"And what makes you so sure he wouldn't've killed Frankie anyway?" Grove asked accusingly. "You weren't there when the research team was attacked, but I was. Frankie almost drowned when Crystal pulled her underwater."

Having been attacked himself, the Doctor could imagine the scene. "Mr. Grove, when Jason's in his right mind, he's one of the gentlest individuals you'd ever hope to meet. He'd no more harm Dr. Albert than you would."

"Doctor, she was carried out to sea!"

"That wouldn't've made any difference. Jason's an Alterran and has some rather extraordinary powers. She'd've survived even if they were miles below the surface."

The reluctant Alex suddenly realized he was actually beginning to believe what the Doctor was saying. At first, he was annoyed with himself, but he couldn't deny the fact that he'd been unable to get the sound he'd heard floating in over the waves out of his mind. It was Frankie's voice. He was sure of it. And if this wild story proved true, even in part, then there was a chance, how ever remote, that she was still alive.

"Okay," Alex conceded, sitting down again, "just for the sake of argument, let's say I believe you and Frankie's alive. Where is she? Why hasn't she contacted us?"

"Oh, good grief, man, think! She couldn't be safer now that everyone thinks she's dead. Especially since her bloodstained lab coat was found in so convenient a—" The Doctor interrupted himself when a sudden thought struck him. "I suppose there's no mistaking it was hers?"

The Security Chief gave him a wry smile. "No. Her ID badge was still clipped to the pocket."

The Doctor grunted in reply.

"I see what you're getting at…" Alex said thoughtfully. "You think it was planted there."

"What do you think?"

Alex thought he was probably right and leaned back in his chair, staring into space. As bizarre—no, insane—as it all sounded, the Doctor's reasoning was beginning to make sense. He looked up sharply when the Time Lord said offhandedly, "And if this Cult is as influential as I've heard, Dr. Albert probably doesn't even trust the police."

"What do you know about the Cult?" Alex asked accusingly.

"Oh, just everything," the Doctor replied cheerily, absently thumbing the pages of a book on the desk. "I spent a good portion of last night reading up on them. This book in particular was very informative. A very enchanting group, this Cult of yours. Their High Priest Brogan sounds a very charming lunatic."

Alex laughed in spite of himself. "He's that alright."

"Can you tell me how I might get to this Temple of his?" the Doctor then asked suddenly.

"The Temple? You're not actually going there, are you?"

"My dear Mr. Grove, Jason has no idea where I am, or even that I'm here looking for him. He does know that Dr. Albert is in great danger and will therefore stay as close to her as possible. Now, I can't find _him_ until I find _her_, and the only lead I've got is this Cult of Jaka."

"And you want to go to the Temple?"

"Well, I've got to start somewhere!" the Doctor pointed out as he got to his feet. Another thought struck him and he asked suddenly, "I don't suppose I could have a look at this airlock of yours, could I?"

Alex blinked. "Doctor, I'm still not altogether convinced you weren't involved in all this."

The Time Lord flashed a broad smile. "Then if I were you, I wouldn't let me out of your sight."


	12. The Temple

**CHAPTER 12**

**THE TEMPLE  
**

Still safely tucked in her own bed Frankie's sleep, like Jason's, was eventually overshadowed by nightmares, the scene in the observation room replaying itself in surrealistic detail. She saw herself chased by hundreds of red-robed demons who bound her with miles of cord so tightly she couldn't breathe. She was thrown into a huge fish bowl where she was set upon by dozens of entwining creatures whose tendrils turned to knives, severing her bonds and allowing her to escape. Frankie fled her attackers, seeing the mild and uncertain individual she knew as Chris. She ran to him for protection, only to have him transform into the traitorous Johnson. In the distance she could see Alex searching for her, calling her name. She was prevented from calling back when a gag was jammed into her mouth. She watched helplessly as he walked off in the opposite direction. Then the demons surrounded her again…

Frankie sat up in bed, screaming in terror.

Out on the porch, Jason practically fell out of his chair and raced into the house. He was at Frankie's side in seconds, trying to shake her awake. "Frankie, wake up! It's only a dream!"

The terrified woman looked at him and shrieked, fighting to pull away. Without thinking, Jason slapped her sharply across the face. "Frankie!" he snapped. "It's me, Chris. Wake up!"

Frankie gave him a stunned look and then collapsed in to his arms, hugging him in relief. "Oh, Chris, thank God it's you!" she cried. She was trembling badly and tears were rolling down her face. "It was horrible. I couldn't get away. I just…I couldn't get away."

Jason thought she was going to crush him she was squeezing him so hard. She started to sob uncontrollably, and he held her gently, letting her get it all out of her system. "You're all right now," he soothed gently. "It was just a dream." Hearing his own words, he closed his eyes, wishing the same were true for him. If only he could wake up from this nightmare of uncertainty.

After several minutes, Frankie managed to get control of herself and released her hold on Jason, allowing him to breathe again. He smiled affectionately at her, wiping away her tears with a caressing hand. "Don't you worry, my dear Francesca," he said in a comforting tone. "I still won't let anything happen to you."

Embarrassed at having so lost control of herself, Frankie was less than comforted and roughly pushed him away, getting out of bed and putting on her dressing gown. "You must think I'm just a silly woman to be so frightened by a dream," she said caustically.

Jason blinked. "What?" He had already realized it would be ludicrous to imagine there could ever be anything between them, but he had thought, in light of the last twelve hours, that their relationship had gone beyond the usual male/female stereotypes. Her assuming he was like every other man she'd ever encountered made him angry. He rose to his feet, his eyes blazing, and for a brief moment Frankie caught a glimpse of his true personality. "My dear Dr. Albert," he began sharply, "you've just survived a very serious and, I might add, rather appalling attempt on your life. That hardly makes you a silly anything. Male, female, or hermaphrodite!"

This was the most forceful he had ever been with her, and Frankie was quite naturally astounded. Not to mention a little bit frightened. "I'm sorry. It's just that…that…" she stammered out. Waving a hand, she said in frustration, "Oh, never mind. I get too defensive sometimes."

Jason flashed a broad smile. "Don't be silly, woman," he grinned mischievously, causing the oceanographer to give him a sideways glance. "Sorry," he said quickly, lowering his eyes. "I couldn't resist."

Frankie glanced at the clock and caught her breath. "I'd better get dressed. We've got to get out of here."

"What's the rush?"

Dr. Albert explained that since she was supposed to be dead, she was afraid the police might come to search her house. The last thing she wanted was for the authorities to find them there, especially after seeing the Cultist among the investigators at the Center. They proceeded to straighten up the house so it would appear as though no one had been there. Frankie collected the clothes she had been wearing the night before and put them in a plastic bag.

"We'll have to stash these somewhere on the way, I supp—" Cutting herself off, Frankie said, "I've just thought of something. How are we going to get to the Temple if I'm not supposed to be seen? We can't walk. It's more than twenty miles from here. And my car's back at the Center."

The Alterran considered, glancing toward the back door. "Well, if I can change back into Crystal, we could go by water." Hearing the oceanographer groan, he said quickly, "Sorry, bad idea. Forget I mentioned it."

"No, I'm not afraid of that," she reassured. "I'm just afraid of losing another pair of shoes."

* * *

Alex was not sure why himself, but he allowed the Doctor to see the devastated observation room. The police had already finished their preliminary investigation and closed it off.

As he prowled the room, the Doctor had Alex tell him exactly what had happened. The Security Chief obliged, recounting the events in detail, finding it much easier now that there was a chance Frankie might still be alive. He led the way out the far door, following along what was believed to be the intruders' escape route, which just happened to lead them past the vault. Intrigued, the Doctor stopped a moment to examine it.

"They didn't break-in there," Alex told him. "You can't get in without a card key or you set off the alarm."

"And it hasn't been opened since last night, I suppose?" the Doctor asked innocently, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket.

"There was no—" Alex caught his breath when the Doctor carefully removed a card key from the slot. His eyes grew even wider when he saw the name on it; Dr. Francesca Albert. Giving the Time Lord a look that was a combination of anger, shock and horror, he used his own card key to open the vault. Just as he suspected, the chest was gone and he cursed under his breath. From behind him, he heard the Doctor observe blandly, "It would appear your intruders got exactly what they came for."

"The question is," Alex replied darkly, "do I inform the authorities or not?"

* * *

In the end, Alex chose not to inform anyone of their discovery, choosing instead to accompany the Doctor to the Temple. He drove to where the highway curved at the base of an incline, indicating a dirt road that wound up to the summit where the Temple was located. He pulled off the highway, concealing his car among the trees, announcing that they would be walking the remaining distance.

The Doctor was somewhat disconcerted when his Teggellan companion removed a gun from his glove compartment before leading the way up the incline. He noticed Alex kept looking nervously around and finally asked him what was wrong. The Security Chief explained that the Temple was not always deserted and he did not want to have the entire assemblage down on top of them if he could avoid it.

Upon arriving at the summit Alex pointed out the ancient Temple, remarking that, considering all the controversy that surrounded it, it wasn't nearly so spectacular as everyone made out. It was just an unimpressive rectangular building perched on top of a cliff.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was very impressed and scrutinized the building from all sides. He entered, looked around and frowned, going back outside a moment and then reentering, apparently more enlightened than before. "How very interesting," he muttered. Turning to the mystified Alex, he asked, "Tell me, how long would you say this Temple's been here?"

"No one knows exactly. The experts can only agree that it's at least ten thousand years old."

"Oh, at the very least," the Time Lord agreed thoughtfully.

There was a mural painted in the center of what seemed to be the main wall. It was flanked by long ebony panels inscribed with symbols that, to the Doctor, seemed vaguely familiar. He knew he'd seen them somewhere, but couldn't quite place them. The painting depicted a battle at sea and showed the Temple on the cliff with lightning bolts coming from it. There were strange looking crafts in and above the water, one of which had been struck by a lightning bolt that was then defected into the ocean below. _Could these be spaceships?_

Crossing to one of the panels, the Doctor ran a hand over its engraved surface. "These, no doubt, tell the epic tale of the battle of the gods?"

"No doubt," Alex grunted, watching as the Doctor started to search along the panel with his fingers. "No one's ever been able to translate them—" Finally he could contain himself no longer and asked, "Doctor, what are you looking for?"

"The way in."

"The way in where?"

The Doctor replied without turning around. "Haven't you noticed? This room is square. But the building isn't. There's a discrepancy somewhere in the vicinity of fifteen feet. Large enough for a room, wouldn't you say?"

"Or a tomb," Alex said pointedly. "Jaka was supposed to've been imprisoned, y'know. Maybe he was imprisoned here."

"And sealed behind a molecularly bonded surface? Rubbish. These walls were sealed against the elements for only one reason. To protect something. That's why they've hardly weathered after thousands of years."

"What _are_ you talking about? This temple was build by my ancestors when they worshipped everything that moved."

The Doctor turned to face him, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't. It was brought here by someone who was capitalizing on the primitive state of the indigenous population."

By this time Alex was getting overwhelmed, and not just a little annoyed. "Brought here? Oh, come on, Doctor. You're not going to tell me it's from outer space, are you?"

"Well, it's certainly not from this planet!" the Time Lord countered as he began working his way across the mural. "Not technology this advanced. You've still a few more centuries to go before you'll be even close to achieving anything on this scale." In the center of the mural, he stopped, giving a sudden cry of delight. "Found it!"

"Found what?"

"The way in," the Doctor replied infuriatingly. Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he held it in front of the Temple in the painting. There was a click followed by a low hum and then the wall slowly parted, disappearing behind the panels to reveal a computerized control room on the other side.

Alex Grove's mouth dropped open and he stood staring in stupefied amazement.

The Doctor grinned at him and then blithely entered. "Just as I thought," he breathed in satisfaction. He took in the room in a glance, his face abruptly clouding over. He went to one of the monitor screens and tapped a number of keys on the entry pad beside it. "That's odd. The main power's been switched off. Everything's running off the auxiliary solar cells. Now I wonder …Ah!" His eyes fell on the main control board in the console along a sidewall. It had a circle of holes in it and a star-shaped dial in the center, a larger hole in its center. Each of the star points ended over the top of one of the wells and the Doctor reached into one, finding a pin sticking up at the base. Apparently something was supposed to be fitted into these before the system would function.

As the Doctor moved further into the room there was the sound of a scuffle behind him and Alex cried out in anger. Spinning around, he saw Brogan standing in the doorway with Alex's gun in his hand. Two Cult members were restraining Alex himself while a third was forcing a gag into his mouth.

"Who are you?" Brogan demanded.

"I'm the Doctor," the Time Lord replied amiably. "And you must be High Priest Brogan. Been keeping busy with your ecclesiastical endeavors?"

Brogan was not amused. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't suppose you'd believe we were new converts, would you?"

At that moment, Alex let out a muffled cry of rage, having recognized Johnson among the presently unhooded cult members. He immediately started to struggle against his captors, knocking them aside to get at the traitor. There was no love lost between Alex Grove and the Cult of Jaka and someone delivered a savage blow to his stomach, doubling him over. A second blow sent him to his knees. Then, like sharks drawn by the smell of blood, the Cultists surrounded the seriously outnumbered Security Chief.


	13. Put To Death

**CHAPTER 13**

**PUT TO DEATH  
**

The Doctor took an angry step forward. "There's no need for that!" he snapped, stopping when Brogan raised his gun. Two of the assemblage broke away from the others, binding the Time Lord's hands behind him while the remainder proceeded to mercilessly beat the still struggling Alex into submission.

"Now, Doctor," Brogan said threateningly, "if you don't want to be next, you'd better start talking. How did you get in here?"

Not wanting to provoke the obviously unstable High Priest, the Doctor checked himself before saying, "Through the door," saying instead, "I'm afraid I don't know. We were poking about when the wall suddenly opened up. I thought someone in here had done it until I saw it was empty."

Brogan seemed satisfied with this response. "And just what are you doing here to begin with? This Temple is sacred—"

"Rubbish!" the Doctor interrupted. "A computer room sacred? Secret, perhaps, but hardly sacred."

By this time Alex had been beaten senseless and the Doctor struggled to pull away from his captors. "Is that really necessary?" he demanded angrily.

Brogan turned a dispassionate eye back to the others and held up a hand, commanding them to stop. The semi-conscious Alex dropped into a battered heap on the floor.

"Mr. Grove has, on more than one occasion, sneered at the name of our great god, Jaka. Those who incur his wrath must also bear his judgment," the High Priest announced, his voice holding more than a hint of malice.

The Doctor was less than impressed. "Did all your ancient gods leave inoperative computer rooms behind?"

"Who can explain the mysteries of the gods?" Brogan replied in a mystical tone.

The Doctor was even less impressed than before. "Oh, come off it, Brogan. You're no more a High Priest than I am, so you can drop the act. You're after the power source that will reactivate this control center."

Brogan's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"Someone who knows advanced technology when they see it. _This_ is what you're after, isn't it?" The Doctor's voice hardened as he asked, "Just what does your order worship, anyway?"

The arrow found its mark. Brogan ground his teeth, his eyes narrowing further. "Bring them!" he commanded angrily, striding from the Temple.

The Time Lord was unceremoniously dragged from the computer room and taken to the edge of the cliff. He thought he and Alex were about to be thrown to their deaths, but instead they were hauled onto a rather unreliable looking wooden elevator and taken down to a large outcrop of rock at the base the cliff. From there they were taken down a stairway leading to the beach and an enormous monolith that stood several yards away. It was inscribed with the same symbols as the panels in the Temple and had dozens of holes of varying size punched through it.

The journey ended in front of the monolith, Alex having to be practically carried the whole way. The Doctor was spread-eagled against the wall and groaned inwardly as he was lashed into place. Apparently Brogan liked the part of his job that called for human sacrifices. Each of the bindings was threaded through a hole and tied over a long block of wood on the other side, thus insuring the captive was securely fastened into place and unable to reach the ends of the rope to untie himself.

Alex returned to his senses just as the last of the Doctor's bindings was secured. He saw Johnson standing smugly nearby and flew into a blind rage, astonishing everyone when he flung the men who were supporting him against the unyielding surface of the monolith, momentarily stunning them. Pulling the gag from his mouth he snarled, "Johnson, you bastard! It was you! How could you, you murdering traitor!"

Held up only by the power of his fury, the Security Chief advanced on the astonished man, apparently oblivious to the fact that there was a gun in his hand. The rattled Johnson fired the weapon, the bullet striking the already badly injured Alex in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground.

The others moved in for the kill, stopping when Brogan thundered, "No! I want him to die slowly. Tie him to the wall!"

From where the Doctor stood it was obvious that not all those present were in agreement with the order, their being more in favor of killing the Security Chief right then and there. The Doctor then witnessed the extraordinary power Brogan held over his followers. Without another word, the High Priest placed a hand on top of his staff in an obvious threat and there was no further dissent among the ranks.

As Alex was lashed beside him, the Doctor suddenly asked, "How long before high tide?"

The High Priest gave him a dark look, annoyed by his cheery tone. Instead of instilling fear, Brogan found himself unsettled by the Time Lord's calm demeanor. Glancing back towards the sea, he smiled, "It's coming in already. It comes in very quickly here, too, so you won't have long to wait."

"Oh, good, I do so hate to be kept waiting," the Time Lord said sarcastically. "Perhaps you might be good enough to answer a question or two while we wait. Unanswered questions can be so irritating, especially when one's being put do death."

The High Priest was not amused.

Suddenly the Doctor's tone was deadly serious. "Dr. Albert and the others, why did you kill them? Was it simply to cover the thief of the chest? Or was it a personal grudge as with my friend Alex, here?"

"Such a pity about Dr. Albert," Brogan sighed in feigned regret. "Such a promising career. And now…she's gone."

"That doesn't answer my question," the Doctor said acidly. "You're not going to tell me about the chest, are you?"

"Ah, the chest," Brogan grinned. "You seem remarkably well informed for a stranger here, Doctor. Especially since its disappearance hasn't been reported."

"That's probably because no one other than Alex and myself knows it's missing," the Doctor remarked, unsettling Brogan all the more. "How do you intend to open it?"

The High Priest motioned for the others to go as the rising tide started coming in at their feet. "You ask a lot of questions for someone who's about to die."

"I hate unanswered questions. Such as, what happens to us when the tide goes out?"

Brogan grinned villainously. "If there's anything left of you after the sharks've finished, we'll see that it goes out with the next tide." He turned to leave, stopping when a sudden thought struck him. "Oh! And, incidentally, this is all private land, so don't expect anyone to come along and help you. You can call for help if you like, but there's not a soul for miles." So saying, he turned and followed the others up the stairs to the elevator.

"A very charming lunatic," the Doctor observed darkly. He heard a groan from beside him and turned just as Alex opened his eyes. "Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

The Security Chief was incredulous. "Doctor, we're going…to die. What…difference…does it…make?" he gasped out painfully.

The Doctor didn't like the sound of his breathing but wasn't about to let on. "You could've been killed already, you idiot!" he snapped reprovingly.

Alex nodded. "I know. But...when I…saw Johnson…just…standing there." Looking up, he said in a betrayed tone, "He's one of…_my_ men, Doctor."

Suddenly the Security Chief's rage made perfect sense. Only Johnson would have possessed the knowledge to so thoroughly sabotage the equipment to ensure Dr. Albert would be taken out to sea. Only he would have known to take her card key in order to remove the chest from the vault without setting off the alarm.

"You just save your breath," the Doctor said mildly.

Alex laughed, only to wince in pain and cough as he did so. "I don't think…I'm in danger of …bleeding to death…before I…drown, Doctor."

The Time Lord nodded absently as he looked up at his hands. "How very interesting. These holes were made by a focused high energy beam."

"Fascinating," Grove muttered sarcastically, not really sure what to make of his bizarre companion. Here they were, completely helpless, the tide rising rapidly and already past their knees, and yet the Doctor seemed oblivious to the fact that they were going to be dead within an hour. Instead, he seemed more interested in the monolith to which they'd been bound.

Alex had no way of knowing the Doctor was keenly aware of their present situation and was only trying to distract the injured Teggellan. "It _is_ fascinating," he replied forcefully. "The materials in this monolith are no more from this planet than that Temple is. And I'd hazard a guess that it was brought here for nothing more spectacular than target practice."

Now Alex's interest was piqued. "Target practice?"

"Yes." The Doctor strained to see around himself and was just able to peer through one of the holes cut on a downward angle. He could clearly see the Temple on the cliff above. "That Temple is nothing more than a weapon system's control center," he went on. "Fortunately for us, there's no power or we'd've added to this collection of holes by now."

"Just how powerful…is this…weapon?"

"Let me put it this way. This wall is made of one of the hardest alloys in the universe and it looks like Swiss cheese. What do you think?"

Alex smiled, the irony of the situation showing on his face. "I think…you're either the biggest liar...to ever walk…the face of Teggell. Or…I'm the biggest…fool."

* * *

Jason had amazed himself again when he as able to return to what he had yet to learn was his true form. Frankie gave him the directions to the temple and together they vanished beneath the waves once more. Now that is was daylight, and she wasn't terrified out of her mind, she found she was actually enjoying the journey. She especially enjoyed being able to move underwater without the necessity of the usual, cumbersome diving gear. The Alterran was moving at top speed, yet there was scarcely any sensation of the water dragging on them, and for the first few minutes Dr. Albert silently marveled at her unique companion. She described the Coral Basin at the base of the cliff where the Temple was located so Jason would be able locate the area without surfacing.

Now it was Jason's turn to be impressed. He remarked on her extensive knowledge of the sea floor and the oceanographer told him about the reef and its history. She also happened to have grown up in the area and had been diving there all her life.

Upon reaching the outer reef, Jason rose out of the water and Frankie pointed out the Temple, her eyes moving to the monolith at the base of the cliff. She was about to tell Jason to move closer when see saw the helpless individuals secured to the monstrous stone edifice. Not quite believing what she was seeing she gasped, "Chris, there's someone tied to the monolith!"


	14. One Emergency At A Time

**CHAPTER 14**

"**ONE EMERGENCY AT A TIME."**

"Frankie, that's Alex Grove!" Jason gasped. "And he looks in pretty bad shape, too."

Frankie's heart missed a beat. "Who's that with him?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before," Jason replied, not realizing the total inaccuracy of this statement as he began moving steadily closer.

"I think you'd better stay out of sight for the time being," Frankie suggested. "I'll untie them and you keep watch."

"Okay." The Alterran started to submerge stopping when Frankie's grip suddenly tightened. "What's wrong?"

"Chris, that's the Doctor! He's the one I told you about. The one who said he knew all about you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. There can't be two people in the world who dress like that."

"Life's full of little surprises," Jason remarked sardonically as they submerged once again.

Unaware of the fact that a rescue was forthcoming, the Doctor was trying to come up with a plan of escape. He was sure the ropes at his wrists would stretch enough for him to pull his hands free as soon as they got wet. He could then use his pocketknife to cut himself free and then the injured Alex, whose condition was deteriorating rapidly. It was an excellent plan in which he could see only one flaw. By the time the ropes securing his hands got wet enough to pull on he would already have drowned, as his hands had been tied above his head.

Frankie suddenly broke the surface of the water only a few yards in front of the monolith and was greeted by one very overjoyed Time Lord. "My dear Dr. Albert! You've no idea how delighted I am to see you alive and well."

Frankie was caught by an incoming wave and carried to his side. She had to catch hold of his coat to keep from being carried away by another wave. "It's a very long story, Doctor," she replied. "And you won't believe—" Her eyes grew wide as she looked over at the battered Alex, seeing him hanging limp and motionless in his bonds. "Alex!"

"He's alive," the Doctor informed quickly. "But he won't be for long if he doesn't get medical attention."

The water was rising far too quickly for Frankie to start searching for the Doctor's knife, so he told her the quickest way he knew for her to get him loose, which was to pull the blocks away on the other side of the wall.

Dr. Albert swam around to do just that and was met by Jason on the other side. While she climbed up to reach the blocks securing the Doctor's hands, he took care of the ones underwater. Once freed, the Time Lord supported the semi-conscious Alex as his rescuer worked her way along the backside of the monolith. Her fingers were just wrapping around the first block when a shot rang out. Having seen the gunman on the cliff above, Jason yanked Frankie clear just as a bullet exploded against the wall's flinty surface. She landed in the water with a loud splash a split second later.

"Dr. Albert, are you alright?" the Doctor called anxiously.

"Someone's shooting at us!" she called back, swimming around the monolith to get out of the line of fire.

The Doctor was about to start searching for his knife when Alex unexpectedly dropped into his arms, Jason having snapped the bindings on the other side. The water was almost shoulder height by this time and the Doctor was having difficulty maneuvering. "We've got to get out of here before they come down after us," he said desperately. "We'll be sitting ducks—"

The Doctor broke off as Jason slowly rose out of the water in front of him. A broad smile spread across his face. "You certainly took your time getting here," he said in mild reproof. "We're in rather desperate need of medical assistance."

Frankie was baffled. "Doctor, what are you—" Another shot rang out and she grabbed hold of the equally baffled Alterran. "Get us out of here!" she ordered.

Jason obediently did as he was told. Taking hold of them all he quickly submerged, choosing to leave explanations to Dr. Albert. She, however, was too busy watching the Doctor's reactions, or lack thereof. Instead of being shocked, he didn't even bat an eye when he was abruptly pulled underwater by a creature that looked like a cross between a jellyfish and a nest of snakes.

Oblivious to Frankie's amazement, the Doctor was busy with Alex, who was cradled in the Alterran's tendrils. The Time Lord did what he could to stop the bleeding from the bullet wound, the pain from the pressure of his hand reviving the injured man.

Alex groaned and opened his swollen eyes as best he could. "Frankie…" he breathed in disbelief. "You're…you're alive…" His breathing was very labored and had a distressing raspy sound to it. It was obvious he was in a great deal of pain and Frankie quickly put a finger to his lips, telling him not to talk.

"Jason, the TARDIS is only about a mile from here," the Doctor informed urgently. "We'd best take him there."

"Doctor, you really _do_ know him, don't you." Dr. Albert said in disbelief.

"What?" The Time Lord looked up, slightly irritated that it should be an issue at a time like this. "Of course I know him! If you don't believe me, just ask him. He can tell you."

"No, I can't," his companion responded regretfully.

"Jason, this is no time for games!"

Frankie quickly intervened. "It's no game, Doctor. He has amnesia."

"What?" the Doctor gasped. "How extensive?"

"About as extensive as you can get," the dejected Alterran replied.

The Doctor stared at him a moment. This was definitely a spoke in his wheels. Suddenly his mind was racing. He needed time to think, but there wasn't a second to lose. "One emergency at a time," he said at last. "First we get Alex to the TARDIS, then we get you sorted out."

"Alright," Jason agreed. "Which way to this…TARDIS of yours?"

The voice was undeniably the voice of his companion, but the tone and inflection were that of a stranger. The Doctor got his bearings and indicated the direction. Within minutes they were walking out of the surf near where the TARDIS stood concealed in the trees.

Still in his true form, Jason carried the now unconscious Alex out of the water, following after the amazing man who seemed to be the only person totally unfazed by him. Was it possible he really did know who, and what, he was?

"What good is a little thing like that?" Dr. Albert demanded as the Doctor unlocked the door to the battered police box.

"Haven't you learned yet that looks can be deceiving?" the Time Lord asked brightly. "Now, come on."

Jason hesitated, suddenly overcome by a wave of terror. "I can't. I can't go in there."

"This isn't the time," the Doctor snapped impatiently. "A man's life is at stake!" Taking the injured man from the reluctant Alterran, he promptly vanished into the TARDIS.

"Frankie, I can't go in there," Jason repeated, returning to his human form without thinking. He took a fearful step back and looked around apprehensively. "I don't know why, but I'm… I'm…afraid."

"We'll go in together," Frankie said firmly, taking his trembling hand into her own. Before the young man could object she pulled him in behind her, stopping the instant they crossed the threshold in the console room. "This is impossible!"

The Doctor was on the far side of the room gently lowering Alex onto the bed he had dozed on the night before. He then stripped off his saturated coat and scarf, dumping them in a wet heap on the floor.

"How is he?" Dr. Albert asked concernedly when the Time Lord looked up.

"He's in shock," came the worried reply. "And I think one of his lungs has collapsed. I've done what I can to stop the bleeding, but what he really needs is surgeon."

"Yo…you mean me…don't you?" Jason said meekly from his place near the door.

"Yes, I mean you."

"But I can't remember!"

Frankie was torn between protecting the vexed young man and keeping Alex alive at all costs. "You must remember _something!_" she exclaimed. "You bandaged my wrists like an expert."

"Frankie, there's a world of difference between wrapping a bandage and removing a bullet," the youth objected.

"Please, you must try."

Slowly and fearfully, Jason crossed the room and stood over the unconscious man. He looked down at the battered and bloodied form, only to turn away in anguish. "I can't! I just can't," he cried out helplessly. "I don't remember. Heaven help me, I just don't remember!" He pressed his fists to his head and staggered away, leaning against the wall in despair.

The Doctor was thinking hard, wondering why his companion would turn up completely well yet with total amnesia. Everything he'd read about the Draconian Flu stated that it caused a brief period of disorientation and listlessness. Any memory loss would be limited to the times when fever caused delirium. Delirium? Could the boy be suffering from a case of hysterical amnesia? After all, on the day he disappeared, he _had_ choked the Time Lord into unconsciousness. If his fevered brain had registered this as murder, it could very well have caused his memory block.

Looking over to his overwhelmed companion, the Doctor drew a deep breath. He knew of one way that might remove the block, but it was very dangerous—for him. Yet if he didn't try, Alex would die. Squaring his shoulders, the Time Lord's face darkened. "Alright, don't do anything," he snarled suddenly. "You just stand there feeling sorry for yourself while Alex bleeds to death. I'm sure he'll understand."

Jason spun around and stared at him with his mouth open, struck dumb by the sudden harshness of his tone. It was Frankie who responded. "Doctor, that's not fair!"

"I don't have to be fair with _him!_" the Time Lord roared. He crossed to the console and hit the door lever, closing the exterior doors. He then turned to the bewildered youth, his face apparently clouded with rage. "So, you don't remember, eh? Do you want to know about yourself? Alright, I'll tell you. You're my property. Nothing more than a purchased servant, and a proper waste of good money you turned out to be, too. Stupid, useless boy!" He punctuated his insult by striking the aghast Alterran, sending him reeling against the wall. "I don't know why I let them talk me into buying you," he went on savagely. "Stupid, worthless creature!"

"I am not!" Jason objected.

The Doctor pushed him back against the wall. "Silence! You have no say here. You do as I command, creature!" He made certain to keep the Alterran cornered, pushing him back against the wall whenever he made to move away.

"Stop, please," Jason wailed, finally cowering back. "Leave me alone."

Dr. Albert could stand it no longer and grabbed the Doctor's arm, only to be roughly pushed aside. Although he did not mean to, the Doctor used the same force he had been using on the considerably stronger Alterran, sending Frankie's petite form careening into the control console. She went down to the floor where she sat sobbing from the pain the fall had caused in her stiff and bruised body.

While this made the Doctor feel terrible, it induced the reaction he was striving for in Jason. It made him angry. The instant the boy looked at him the Doctor knew he was in trouble and braced himself. Even in human form, the Alterran's strength was many times his own.

"_You leave her alone!"_ the enraged Alterran snarled. He sprang at the Doctor, throwing him across the console room.

The Time Lord was sent spinning into the far wall, slamming into it with such force he was momentarily stunned. He barely had the chance to steady himself when Jason was upon him again, throwing him savagely to the floor.

Frankie watched the incredible turn of events in awe. It wasn't until Jason took the dazed Time Lord by the throat that she realized how serious the situation had become. "No! Chris, stop! He's not worth it!"

The Doctor had hoped the angry confrontation similar to the one that had triggered the amnesia might remove the mental block, but as the Alterran's powerful hands bore down on his throat, it seemed as if he had only succeeded in getting himself choked into unconsciousness again. If not killed this time.


	15. Back In Limbo

**CHAPTER 15**

**BACK IN LIMBO  
**

"Chris, stop!" Frankie repeated, trying to pull the enraged youth away. Realizing she wasn't strong enough, she threw her full weight at him, finally succeeding in knocking him off of the struggling Time Lord.

The Doctor lay gasping for a few seconds before sitting up, rubbing his bruised neck. "Thank-you," he gasped out gratefully, receiving a fierce look in return.

"You don't deserve it!" Dr. Albert snapped angrily, pushing him away in disgust. "You weren't worried about him at all, were you? All you were worried about was losing your valuable property."

The Doctor blinked, his mouth dropping open in disbelief. Then he laughed, much to the woman's annoyance. "My dear Dr. Albert, I don't _own_ Jason. I was trying to get him angry." He looked over at his companion and frowned, wondering if he hadn't simply made matters worse. The young man was completely motionless, sitting silently and staring blankly into space.

The Doctor had no way of knowing that his gamble had paid off, thanks to two things; Jason's scanning ability, and the fact that a Time Lord's aura was stronger than that of other humanoids. Every time Jason had skin-to-skin contact, he registered the Doctor's time aura. The day he disappeared was no different, but because of his illness the information was just as jumbled and irrational as his state of mind. When his hands bore down on the Doctor's throat, the familiar aura assailed his senses once again. It also opened a floodgate of memories, the scene in the console room replaying itself in his mind. He saw the Doctor fighting against the tendrils entwining him, struggling in vain to loosen the coil at his throat. The same coil that mercilessly tightened in order to squeeze the life out of him.

Suddenly Jason remembered the overwhelming feelings of hatred, resentment, and jealousy, all of which were dominated by an urgent sense of purpose. The Doctor had to be destroyed or he'd stand in the way. In the way of what? Too terrified to think further, Jason's mind boggled at the horrifying memory of his own elation when the Time Lord went limp in his grasp. How could he do such a thing! He'd murdered his best friend, and was actually happy about it! As before, panic swept over him and he wanted to run but was knocked clear by Frankie at that very moment. He then withdrew into himself, his true personality fighting with that of Chris, and the evil one who had killed the Doctor.

The Doctor heard a small sob escape the young man's lips and put a hand on his shoulder, gently turning him around. He looked into the blank, staring eyes a moment. "Jason…?" he said hesitantly. "Jason, it's the Doctor. Can you hear me?"

The Alterran suddenly seemed to come to himself and shuddered, closing his eyes. He put a hand to his head and sagged, not quite certain what was going on. Hearing his name, he looked up. "Doctor…? Wh…what happened?"

"How do you feel?"

"I don't know. Confused, I guess. But that's not uncommon after—" Jason broke off when he realized he was sitting on the floor in the console room and looked around in blank astonishment. "How on earth did I get here?" he asked, turning to see, to his added confusion, a pretty and very bruised redheaded woman on the floor near him. "Doctor, you're soaking wet!" he gasped. "What the devil's going on?"

"A great deal," the Time Lord replied tersely. "But explanations will have to wait—"

"Wait!"

"Yes, wait," the Doctor said as he got to his feet. "Just now we need a surgeon." Turning to look across the room, he said firmly, "Alex has been shot and needs your help rather urgently."

The youth followed his gaze and frowned, feeling strangely out of his depth. "You know I hate working in the dark," he grumbled as he got to his feet. He strode across the room, examining the injured man's wounds.

The Doctor startled Dr. Albert when he gently helped her to her feet. She was starting to feel as confused as Jason. "He doesn't remember any of what just happened," she remarked in awe.

"No, he doesn't appear to. Not either incident," the Doctor agreed, keeping his voice low. "I hadn't bargained on that." Looking in his companion's direction, he added, "He's in for a rough ride, I'm afraid."

Before Dr. Albert could comment on this, the Doctor was moving to the Alterran's side. He arrived just in time to catch him as he started to sway on his feet. "Are you alright?"

The Healer nodded. "Yes, I think so. I don't know what came over me."

"You've been ill, my boy. Just take it slowly," the Doctor soothed. "Now, about our friend Alex?"

Jason turned back to his patient. "His in shock, has a lung about to collapse, and needs blood rather desperately. Help me get him to the sickbay. I can work on him there."

* * *

Even after seeing the console room, Frankie was unprepared for the sheer size of the TARDIS interior. Upon arriving in the sickbay, she was made to wait in the room adjacent to where Alex was taken, being able to watch all that went on through an observation window. She watched in a combination of amazement and trepidation as the Alterran Healer worked on the injured man's wounds, his hands moving so quickly that the Doctor had difficulty keeping up. It wasn't until Jason was certain his patient was out of immediate danger that he slowed his pace. Frankie saw him look in her direction, frown, and then waver on his feet, finally having to sit down, a hand to his head. Even though she couldn't hear what was said, it was obvious he was in no mood to be fussed over, waving off the Doctor's assistance. A minute later, the Time Lord came in to her. "I've been…eh, instructed to get you into some dry clothes," he informed soberly.

Dr. Albert shot a worried look over to the window. "Will he be alright on his own?"

The Doctor's expression did not change. "For the time being. He's rather in a state of limbo just now. Fortunately he believes it's due to his illness." He led the way to the TARDIS' extensive wardrobe where the reluctant oceanographer could get cleaned up and change into whatever struck her fancy.

Along the way, Frankie asked about the illness the Doctor kept referring to, and he briefly told her of the Draconian Flu and its unpredictability. "Confusion and slight memory loss are a normal side effect. But what Jason hasn't realized yet is he's already past that stage."

Dr. Albert nodded, telling him of the detached feelings and listlessness Jason had mentioned experiencing when he came to his senses in the main tank.

"Once he remembers that our troubles will really begin," the Doctor said mysteriously, opening the door to the wardrobe.

"I don't understand."

"You will," he replied vaguely. "Jason's temper can be, well…violent. You saw a demonstration of it in the console room. He's been trying very hard to master it and I'm afraid I had to use it against him to restore his memory."

"If you hadn't, Alex would've died," Frankie pointed out.

"Yes. But at what price Jason?"

Before the confused Dr. Albert could inquire further, the Doctor was heading for his own room, calling over his shoulder that he would return for her as soon as he had changed himself.

* * *

Jason sat calmly watching as the synthetic blood in Alex's transfusion dropped lower and lower. His mind was a jumbled mass of disjointed images that he couldn't seem to sort out. Were these memories? he wondered. Or were they dreams? Or even nightmares?

Returning to his senses with a jolt, the Alterran looked around, half-expecting to be somewhere else. He was relieved when he saw he was where he was supposed to be, but couldn't shake his ill ease. "Come on, Krystovan. This is no time for daydreaming," he said under his breath, getting to his feet.

Now that he was alone, he transmuted to his true form, which allowed him to work even faster than before. After making certain the big man was stabilized, Jason removed the bullet from his shoulder going on to bond his cracked and broken ribs. He then doubled checked his lungs, making certain there were no additional punctures before going on the clean and dress all his other injuries. Once this was complete, the Healer wrapped his patient warmly and sat down, studying the unconscious stranger. He was in critical condition, of course, but seemed to have a powerful will to live and would no doubt make a complete recovery. But that would take time.

When the Doctor returned for Dr. Albert, she would not go a single step with him until he answered some of her questions, the first being; how did he know that baiting Jason into a fight would bring his memory back? Reluctantly, he told her of his companion's violent delirium and subsequent, nearly fatal attack on him in the console room.

Frankie was appalled by this revelation. "And we left him alone with Alex!" she gasped.

"He's not going to hurt Alex—"

"How do you know? You just said yourself he tried to kill you."

"And according to Alex," the Doctor countered, "he nearly drowned you when he was brought to the Freeland Center."

"That was different. He was—" Frankie cut herself off as she realized what he meant.

"He was sick," the Time Lord completed. "Does he remember attacking you?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. I had hoped the confrontation would help him get his memory back."

Frankie was puzzled by his tone. "But…it did."

"Did it? He doesn't remember either incident. So now, instead of blocking only one attack, he's blocking two. And all the time in-between."

"So, what do we do? Do we tell him?"

"No. That could be disastrous. Best to leave him be and allow his memory to return naturally, as it would've done it I hadn't pushed him."

"Doctor, I don't understand. How could—"

"There's a great deal you don't understand, my good woman," the Doctor snapped impatiently. "Just believe this. If we push him too hard, we run the risk of losing him altogether." So saying, he strode from the room.

Frankie had to run to catch up to the brooding Time Lord and followed silently behind him as he led the way back to the sickbay. They found Jason sitting in the far corner of the treatment room staring into space, apparently lost in thought. For some reason, he had drawn the curtains to cover the observation window and the Doctor noted this in bewilderment. Upon hearing his name, Jason looked up, giving a tired half-smile.

"How is he?" Frankie asked hesitantly, her eyes falling on the form on the bed that was now swaddled in bandages.

"Lucky," Jason replied bluntly as he got to his feet. Seeing the anguished expression this induced, his voice softened. "He's not going to die, if that's what you mean. So don't look so worried—" The light-headedness returned as he suddenly realized he did not know the woman's name. He threw a helpless look in the Doctor's direction before saying, "This is terribly awkward, and I apologize, but…I don't know your name."

It was the Doctor who replied. "This is Dr. Albert, Jason. She's been looking after you for the last few days."

The Alterran gave his friend a stunned look before turning to the oceanographer, receiving a self-conscious smile in return. "I'm sorry," he said wholeheartedly. "I don't remember you at all." Now his head was really spinning, forcing him to sit down again.

"I'm sorry, too," Frankie said sadly. She had been feeling an odd sense of loss ever since the Alterran came to himself in the console room. The fearful, uncertain person she had come to know as Chris was gone, apparently forever, having been replaced by this confident, self-assured person whom the Doctor called Jason. She noticed he even spoke and carried himself differently and found herself feeling as though someone very dear to her had just died.

Going over to the unconscious Alex, Frankie gently stroked his battered and swollen face. He was wearing an oxygen mask and she was relieved to hear him breathing without difficulty. "Don't you dare die on me, you male chauvinist," she scolded softly. "Who will I have to fight with?"

Without looking up, or thinking, Frankie suddenly asked, "Chris, how long will it be before he wakes up?"

Equally without thinking, Jason replied, "Not for a couple of hours. I gave him a—" He stopped talking, scowling over at her. "What did you just call me?"

The Doctor groaned inwardly, rolling his eyes. Dr. Albert threw a helpless and apologetic look in his direction and Jason's eyes narrowed. His mind was clear enough for him to realize there was more going on than he was being led to believe. "Alright, Doctor, out with it. What's really going on?" Receiving no reply, he turned to Dr. Albert. "If you've been taking care of me all this time, why couldn't you take care of him as well?"

"I'm a marine biologist, not a surgeon," Frankie snapped defensively, causing the Doctor to groan audibly. This was not going very well at all. It got even worse when his companion turned accusingly to him and said, "You told me we were on course for—"

"There was an unexpected change of plan," the Doctor said quickly. "The coordinates were changed by a delirious Alterran."

Jason blinked and then sighed heavily, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "Where are we, then?"

"A lovely little planet called Teggell."


	16. Coming Back Slowly

**CHAPTER 16**

**COMING BACK SLOWLY  
**

After mulling this over a minute, Jason opened his eyes to see Frankie rubbing her wrists. His trained eyes looked her up and down, assessing her injuries in a glance. "Dr. Albert, you're hurt," he said, getting to his feet.

"I'm alright," she replied stiffly.

"You let me be the judge of that," the Healer said, crossing to her and taking her arm to examine it.

This young man was so different from Chris that Frankie was completely put off by him. She pulled away and took a step back. "I said I'm alright!"

Jason did not know what to make of this perplexing reaction. He was also slightly hurt by the obvious revulsion she seemed to have for him. "My dear woman, I'm not going to—" The words "hurt you" echoed through his mind before he even uttered them and he scowled, his face a study in confusion and uncertainty.

Intrigued, the Doctor asked, "What's the matter?"

"Déjà vú."

"That's encouraging."

"Is it?" His companion's face darkened further and for a single, terrifying instant, even the Doctor's identity was lost to him. Frankie saw the same terrified expression cross his face that she had seen the night before. Jason started to tremble and turned away, running his fingers through his hair. He appeared to be struggling with something he was either unable or unwilling to express. After a minute, he turned back to see a calm, patient expression on the Doctor's face. "I think…I'm losing my mind," he said at last.

Shaking his head, the Time Lord corrected, "Finding it, more like. Everything's bound to be a little fuzzy, Jason, you of all people should know that. Now why don't you see to Dr. Albert's injuries and try _not_ to think."

With a half-smile, Jason nodded, taking Frankie into the next room. He had her take a seat at the table near the door while he collected what he needed, returning to take a seat across from her. He started to remove the wet and useless bandages from her wrists and caught his breath, looking up sharply. "I did these!"

"How do you know that?" Frankie wanted to know.

"See how the wrapping forms a 'J' there? My father taught me that when I was a kid. I think he did it as a joke, but it's become a sort of—" Jason slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "Why do I remember _that_ but not dressing these wounds?" Seeing the frightened look on the oceanographer's face, his eyes grew wide. "I'm not… I didn't do this to you, did I?"

"No!" Frankie was clearly appalled, much to the Alterran's relief. "How could you possibly think that?"

Jason cleared his throat. "I'm just trying to put pieces together," he said mildly before continuing with his work. He applied an artificial skin over the lacerations explaining that it would act as a bandage, eventually being absorbed into the wound as the new skin formed, leaving no visible scar. He had no sooner finished than his patient pulled sharply away, causing him to sigh heavily. "Are you sure I didn't hurt you in some way? Every time I come near you, you either tense up or pull away. You did it again just now."

"It's not you, really," Frankie said nervously. "I'm just…afraid of being bruised again." Even she didn't believe this feeble excuse, but Jason seemed to accept it. He got to his feet, stopping dead when he saw the Doctor had drawn the curtains on the other side of the observation window. Apparently he had done this so the Healer could keep an eye on Alex's condition, but all it did was make him feel distinctly uncomfortable. The Alterran continued across the room, going to a cabinet and rummaging through its contents.

"I understand you hesitancy, Dr. Albert," Jason said conversationally, "but I'm not a violent person by nature—not really."

Dr. Albert nodded noncommittally, more interested in looking over her newly restored wrists then what he was saying.

Smiling, Jason pulled out a bottle of pills and examined it idly. "I mean, if I started beating up defenseless humans, my father would strip me of my guardianship, and then where would I—?" He broke off when a horrified look came to the face of the woman across the room. "What did I say _now?_"

"You're the Guardian!" she gasped in wide-eyed horror, a hand to her mouth. "Yo…you really _are_ the Guardian."

"What?" Completely baffled, Jason could feel his head starting to spin and leaned back against the counter. "What are you talking about? My father's been calling me that since I was a kid."

"He's not the Guardian you mean, Dr. Albert," came the Doctor's reassuring voice from the doorway.

"Doctor, please, what _is_ going on?" Jason implored. He held up a hand in anticipation of his friend's response. "Yes, yes, I know. I've been ill. But there's more to it than that. Good grief, Doctor, I have total recall! I should be able to remember _some _of what went on over the last few days. Even the last few hours. There shouldn't be a hole in time like this."

The Doctor threw an apprehensive glance at Dr. Albert, who suddenly realized what he meant about Jason being in for a rough ride. "Why don't you get Alex to bed, and then we can talk," he said at last.

His companion closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath. He glanced over to the observation window and suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to run for his life. There was no hiding his anxiety this time as he hugged himself to try and stop trembling.

"Jason, what is it?" the Doctor asked concernedly, going over to the distressed youth and unwittingly adding to his discomfort.

"I don't know," the Alterran said shakily. "You're going to think this is crazy, but…" Giving a nervous laugh, he admitted, "It's the window."

"The window. What about it?"

"_I don't know!_" Jason replied forcefully. "It's just…it's the strangest…" Sighing heavily, he shook his head, saying finally, "I'm afraid of it."

The Doctor threw a quick glance over to the window and then asked Frankie to go close the curtains. Puzzled, she did as she was asked, hesitating on the other side of the glass a moment before pulling the material across.

The moment Frankie appeared in the window, Jason felt oddly relieved. Not because of what she was doing, but because she was on the other side of the glass where she belonged. Where she belonged? A ghost of a memory pricked at the Alterran's mind and then started to form behind a slowly rising mist. His eyes narrowed as he tried to focus on the strange disjointed image.

The Doctor blinked, not quite believing what he was seeing when his companion abruptly went into a trance. He watched the boy closely, wondering what was going on inside his mind.

What was going on was Jason had suddenly returned in the main tank in the Freeland center and was looking through the observation room. He could see Alex Grove, healthy and smiling, teasing the sometimes too serious Dr. Albert. The image swirled and changed, becoming the night of the break-in. He watched Frankie being left in the airlock to be killed by the Guardian. The Alterran scowled at this distressing memory, recalling his own confusion at the time. Suddenly the words of the High Priest came to his mind like a thunder clap. "We'll let the Guardian have her."

"The Guardian…" Jason whispered, the words echoing through his brain. The violence of the attack and the title overlapped, as did the realization that he was the one expected to kill the helpless woman. But unlike before, when this only served to confuse him, his true personality reacted. He was enraged. How dare they assume he would want to kill anyone!

"No!" the Alterran growled, squeezing the bottle in his hand so tightly that it exploded with a loud pop. Some of the glass sliced into his hand, bringing him back to reality with a jolt and cry of pain. The Doctor was immediately at his side, guiding him to a tall stool to sit down. Looking up, Jason gave his friend a quizzical look. "Doctor, what're you doing here?" he asked dazedly.

The Doctor looked into his blank, inquiring eyes, wondering how best to respond. He was saved the trouble by Frankie, who had returned to the room just as the pill bottle exploded. She grabbed a wad of bandages from the table near the door and applied them to the boy's bleeding hand.

Jason studied her a moment and then smiled as he realized he knew who she was. "It's okay, Frankie," he said calmly, "I can fix it." So saying, the palm of his hand started to shimmer. The bleeding stopped and new skin formed over the gashes. In a blink, it was as though he had never been injured.

"How did you—?" Frankie broke off as his words sank in. "You called me Frankie."

The young man smiled affectionately. "Yes, I know."

Frankie turned in amazement to the equally amazed Doctor.

"I'm not the Guardian, Frankie," Jason went on in the same calm voice. "A lot of things are still fuzzy. But not that." His voice hardened as he repeated, "Not that."

"Don't push it, Jason," the Doctor said quickly. "Just let it come by itself."

His companion gave him a baffled look, glancing around the room as he realized where he was. His face suddenly cleared and seemed to mature as his thoughts came together. "It already has come by itself. Well…part of it, anyway."

"_How?_" Frankie wanted to know.

"It was the window," the Alterran announced cryptically. "You were on the wrong side. And I was in the wrong form."

The Doctor was still apprehensive. It was obvious that the observation window had served to unlock some of Jason's memories, but not enough to remove the blocks concealing the attacks on the Time Lord himself. This would be a long time coming. If at all. He was startled out of these thoughts when Jason took hold of his arm, examining his discolored and partially healed hands.

"Am I the only one who wasn't affected by this calamity that injured you all?" the Healer asked with a sigh.

The Doctor said nothing, thinking to himself that, in a way, the Alterran himself had been the cause of the calamity. He followed his friend across the room, taking Frankie's place at the table and watching silently as his wounds were tended.

For reasons he could not explain at the time, Jason found it difficult to concentrate, which only served to annoy him. This was such a simple task. It shouldn't be giving him so much trouble. Nevertheless he could not escape the fact that he was apprehensive…no, he was afraid to be anywhere near his best friend. Stranger still were the bizarre swirling images that filled his head every time he came in contact with the Time Lord's aura.

Jason's unusual manner did not go unnoticed by the Doctor, who made as if everything were perfectly normal. As soon as his companion finished his work, he suggested that they move Alex to one of the bedrooms, to which Jason readily agreed. He even had a specific room in mind already. He asked if it could be reconfigured to accommodate his needs, making a quick sketch of what he had in mind. The Doctor was more that happy to comply with the request, saying that he would call as soon as the room was prepared. The Healer nodded approvingly and went into the other room to prepare Alex to be moved.

Frankie followed and watched apprehensively at the foot of the bed. "You're sure Alex will be all right?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure."

Jason's reply echoed through his mind, rekindling the memory of an underwater conversation and his identical response to a totally different question. So happy was he to recall the event with his usual clarity he laughed out loud.

"And just what's so funny?" Frankie asked defensively, thinking him to be laughing at her.

"Pieces coming together." With another laugh, he added, "I remember not being able to remember, if that makes any sense."

It did, in more ways than one. Frankie lowered her eyes guiltily. "Then…you remember being trapped in the tank?"

The Alterran saw the guilty look on her face and his expression softened. He went over to her, gently taking her by the hands. "Oh, my dear Francesca," he sighed in a voice that made her heart jump, "how do I convince you that I _still _mean you no harm?"

Frankie looked into his eyes, noticing for the first time how incredibly blue they were.

Jason then spoke in the tone Frankie thought she would never hear again, "I remember a very dedicated scientist caring for me when I couldn't. You saved my life, Frankie, whether you believe it or not. I'd be dead now if it hadn't been for you."

Dr. Albert smiled self-consciously. "So…what do I call you? Chris or Jason?"

"Either will do. I have so many names already." He gave way to a small chuckle. "I don't even use most of them. Just a bunch of pretentious titles, anyway." Seeing the intrigued look on her face, he smiled in amusement. "Dr. Albert, allow me to _finally_ introduce myself," he said with a courtly bow. "I am Jason Krystovan."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Jason Krystovan," she replied, inclining her head. "Now… what did you mean about a bunch of pretentious titles?"

In the console room, the Doctor turned on the internal communications system, picking up the end of the conversation. Switching on the microphone, he cleared his throat. "Taking Lord Krystovan out of mothballs, are we?"

Jason looked up sharply, turning in the direction of the voice. "It's not polite to eavesdrop, Doctor," he scolded playfully.

"Perhaps not, but it can be very educational," the Doctor replied aridly, adding, "Your room is ready."


	17. Time To Recover

**CHAPTER 17**

**TIME TO RECOVER  
**

Inside the apparently deserted Temple of Jaka, High Priest Brogan was pouring over his notes on Teggellan mythology for what seemed the hundredth time. It had been several hours since the apparent rescue of the Doctor and Alex, yet there had been no sign of either of them anywhere. Even his man inside the police department had heard nothing. Brogan chuckled to himself. How wonderfully ironic it would be if it turned out they had been caught in one of the rip tides that plagued the area.

The High Priest sighed heavily as he looked down at the papers, pushing them away in frustration. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the stolen chest, which sat on the main control console nearby. No matter what he did, it obstinately refused to open. _So close!_ he thought in dismay. He was so close he could taste it. If only he could find the right key. Then the source of ultimate power would be his.

Rising to his feet, Brogan went to the other side of the room, scowling at a small control panel in the wall. He discovered, just as the Doctor had, that power was still being supplied to the computer. Encouraged, he began a meticulous examination of every control in the room. If he could get the computer working, perhaps he could find the key he was searching for.

Frankie did not think it possible, but she was amazed yet again when she saw the room Jason had designed for Alex. The rear section looked like a pseudo-hospital room while the front was more like a lounge. There were two sofas, an over-stuffed easy chair (complete with matching foot stool) a coffee table, and a couple of end tables. A plush carpet beneath completed the illusion.

The Doctor appeared in the doorway just as his companion was finishing with Alex's transfer and checking his status. He looked up when the Time Lord chirped brightly, "Well, now isn't this nice?"

"The carpet's a nice touch," the Alterran grinned. "What do you think, Frankie?"

The overwhelmed Frankie shook her head, not knowing what to think.

"Are you hungry?" Jason asked suddenly. "I'm starving." Not waiting for a reply, he promptly vanished from the room.

Frankie blinked, turning to the Doctor. "Is he always like that?" she asked almost helplessly as she sat down.

"Energetic or hungry?" the Doctor replied as he came over to join her. "The answer to both questions is, yes."

"He's just so—different."

The Doctor was forced to agree that this was indeed true, in more ways than one. Jason was normally easy going, cheerful, and…well, submissive at times. But when acting in his capacity as Healer, he was completely serious and in authority at all times. It was this that concerned the Doctor most as he had never seen Jason simply abandon a patient in such critical condition. Normally he would ask that someone else get anything he might need.

Finally Frankie could stand it no longer and asked, "Doctor, who are you? And who, or what, is Jason?"

"I'm a traveler," the Time Lord replied simply. "And Jason is an Alterran."

"A traveler? You mean a space traveler, don't you? I mean, this _is_ a spaceship we're sitting in, isn't it?"

"The TARDIS isn't limited solely to the dimension of space. We travel in time as well. When Jason was delirious, he altered our original course and then had the discourtesy to lock the controls on me." Shaking his head, the Doctor added darkly, "And was it a job getting them freed up again."

The oceanographer took a moment to absorb all of this. The Doctor grinned when she suddenly threw a frightened look in his direction. "We're not alien invaders," he said calmly.

Frankie gave a self-conscious laugh, throwing a quick glance in Alex's direction. "No, I don't suppose you are."

Jason came bounding back into the room at that moment, pulling a cart loaded with an unusual assortment of food in after him. Rubbing his hands together, he asked, "Now, what's your pl…" His words trailed off and he stiffened, his face darkening. He stood perfectly still, listening a moment and then turned to look across the room.

"What's wrong?" Frankie asked.

Not seeming to have heard her, the Alterran Healer crossed to his patient and was about to scan him when he heard an almost imperceptible moan from the man in the bed. All the tension in Jason's face drained away and he relaxed, relieved that he had not been imagining things.

Alex's eyes flickered a few times as he fought to return to consciousness. The effort seemed too much for him and he sank back into oblivion.

By this time Frankie was on the opposite side of the bed. "Well?" she demanded when the young man looked up at her.

"Let's eat."

"Chr—Jason!" she exploded in exasperation. "What about Alex?"

Jason grinned, looking admiringly down at the man in the bed. "He's just fighting the medication I gave him. He's as good a fighter as you are, Frankie, but I seriously doubt he'll wake up any time soon. He needs to recover his strength, and so do you. Now come and eat something before you collapse." So saying, he turned on his heel and strode across the room.

Dr. Albert stared after him a moment, looking down at the bruised and apparently peaceful figure in the bed. Touching Alex's swollen face, she sighed and went back to the lounge area, realizing suddenly that she was ravenous. It had been a long time since breakfast.

Jason laid out the contents of the cart on the coffee table and invited the others to help themselves. He poured himself a large mug full of coffee and then sank into the easy chair that he had positioned to give himself a clear view across the room. "My Lord, I'm tired," he sighed wearily, leaning back in the chair and putting his feet up. He closed his eyes and was sound asleep within minutes.

The Doctor exchanged a look with Frankie that was a combination of relief and concern before he carefully took the mug from his companion's hand and placed it on the table beside him.

"I don't think he slept a wink last night," Frankie said as the Doctor put a blanket over the sleeping youth. "He must be exhausted."

"And how about yourself?" the Time Lord asked, startling the woman with his unexpected show of concern.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she replied stiffly.

The Doctor was momentarily thrown by the coldness of her response. It wasn't until he saw her rubbing her now repaired wrists that he realized the reason for it. "My dear Dr. Albert, you must forgive me. I've only just realized. I never apologized for my abominable behavior towards you in the console room. It was never my intention to hurt you, and I'm afraid I pushed you rather harder than I'd intended."

Frankie studied his face a moment and then smiled. "Okay, I forgive you," she said at last. "Now why don't you try calling me Frankie? Dr. Albert is so formal." She turned to look at the sleeping Alterran. "And we've come way beyond formalities."

* * *

Completely forgotten by the occupants of the TARDIS, the outside world was still going about its business. When Alex failed to return to the Freeland Center, some of the staff became concerned. After several hours passed without any word, which was not like the Security Chief at all, the police investigating the break-in contacted their superiors to report his apparent disappearance.

Detective Rider, who was in charge of the investigation, was the least surprised of anyone. He had been formulating a theory, which Alex's disappearance only seemed to verify. Rider believed the Security Chief himself to be the person behind the break-in, the sole purpose of which was to cover the murder of Dr. Albert.

The Detective theorized that Alex had enlisted the aid of an outsider, who would have been the person Carl heard Dr. Albert fighting off, and quite possibly the one Johnson chased from the water's edge. The fact that the Security Chief had been absent from his office when Carl went looking for him became extremely significant. Was he really making rounds, or was he letting his accomplice into the building? Was this mysterious Doctor the accomplice? He had, after all, insisted on speaking with the Director only hours before the crime, and had also reappeared the following morning to be seen by the Security Chief. Both men were later admitted to the observation room, which was strictly off limits, and were later seen retracing the suspected escape route out of the building. After this, neither man was seen nor heard from again.

Rider admitted that he was uncertain as to why Harris had been killed, but suspected it was more than likely a deliberate act to cast further suspicion on the Cult of Jaka. Aside from this little detail, everything seemed to hang together quite nicely. The question was raised as to what motive Alex Grove could possibly have that he would go to such elaborate lengths just to murder one person.

"Jealousy, hatred, injured masculine pride. Take your pick," Rider replied. "Every statement we've taken from the staff bears out the fact that Dr. Albert and Mr. Grove have been at each other's throats since she took over as Director." He went on to speculate that Alex probably could not deal with taking orders from a woman. Especially one he hated. "And everyone knows how obsessed he is with the Cult," the Detective pointed out. "How many times have we had to come out here this month alone? It would've been easy for him to fabricate the evidence pinning the blame on them." He went on to say that there was almost too much evidence implicating the Cult.

While on the surface the case against Alex Grove seemed to be getting more and more airtight; Rider knew it to be a total fabrication. It was he whom Jason had seen and warned Frankie about the night of the break-in. He was also Brogan's plant in the police department. Only he among all the investigators knew that Alex Grove was very probably dead and would therefore be unable to defend himself against the allegations now being heaped on his once good name.


	18. Waking, Sleeping, And Visions

**CHAPTER 18**

**WAKING, SLEEPING, AND VISIONS  
**

While the exhausted Jason slept peacefully in his chair, Alex finally managed to fight his way awake. He opened his swollen, blackened eyes as best he could and looked around fuzzily. He realized immediately that moving was out of the question, feeling nothing but pain throughout his entire body. Suddenly Frankie was beside him telling him to be still and he stared up at her in silent wonder. Even when she squeezed his hand and told him he would be all right, he was certain he was dreaming. The effort of simply staying awake proved too much for him, however, and he sank contentedly back into unconsciousness.

Two hours later, Jason's pleasant dreams were again invaded by nightmares. The swirling, disjointed memories and bizarre, unfamiliar emotions he experienced while ill, delirious, and amnesiac overlapped and jumbled together. Through it all came an image of burning hatred and all-consuming rage that was inexplicably aimed at the Doctor, who was just as powerless against these forces as Jason was at controlling them. Eventually, they consumed them both.

The figure in the chair became restless, whimpering from time to time and becoming more and more agitated. The Doctor shook his friend awake, his touch only serving to galvanize the image into one of terrifying reality. Jason cried out in anguish waking himself in the process. Dazed and shaking, he put his head in his hands, trying to get control of himself. The Doctor spoke his name and he looked up in shock, grabbing him to make certain he were real. "Doctor! You're alive!" he cried.

"Of course I'm alive, dear boy," the Time Lord replied mildly. "You're cooking isn't _that _bad."

His companion gave him a blank look, completely missing the point of the jest. "No, Doctor, you don't understand. I just saw me…murder you. I saw it as clearly as I see you now."

"It was a dream, Jason," Frankie injected reassuringly.

The Alterran shook his head. "No, it was a memory. Or…a fragment of one. I'm positive of that." He looked into the Time Lord's worried face, saying hesitantly, "I tried to kill you, didn't I? In the console room?"

The Doctor made no reply as his companion continued to chase after the fleeting images in his mind.

Releasing his grip, Jason sat back, a hand to his spinning head. "I was angry and—No. No, that's not right. I went berserk."

"What else do you remember?" the Doctor asked gently.

"Isn't that enough?"

Suddenly realizing the Doctor wasn't trying to dissuade him that he had only been dreaming, Jason's eyes narrowed. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You actually went out of your way to make me lose my temper."

"Yes."

"Why! Doctor, how could you do that to me?" Holding up his hands, Jason rephrased the question, "Why would you _need_ to do that to me?"

The Time Lord turned a meaningful glance in the direction of the injured Alex Grove and his companion sighed resignedly. He closed his eyes, silently accepting the now obvious answer.

After a long silence, Jason said quietly, "You took an awful risk getting me mad like that. You're lucky I only threw you across the room. I could've—"

"I know. _I_ didn't hurt _you_, did I?" the Doctor asked with a grin.

"Only my pride. Purchased servant indeed," the Alterran aristocrat snorted.

"Oh, I don't know. I rather liked the idea."

"You would," Jason grunted, going over to check on his patient's condition. Frankie told him of Alex's brief period of wakefulness and was relieved to hear that this was encouraging.

As if on cue, Alex opened his eyes again, looking groggily up at the young man at his bedside. "Good morning," the stranger said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, confused…"

"Alive?" Frankie ventured from the other side of the bed.

Alex blinked up at her. "Frankie…" he breathed. She took hold of his hand and he squeezed it. "Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me, you silly oaf. Honestly, I can't let you out of my sight for two minutes before you get into trouble."

"You should…talk…" he admonished painfully.

"Alright, enough of that," Jason cut in quickly. "You need to rest, not fight." Looking up, he said, "And that goes for you, too, Frankie."

Within a few minutes, Alex was asleep again. Jason tried to persuade Dr. Albert to go to one of the guest rooms to get some sleep herself, but she flatly refused to leave. In the end, she agreed to try to get some rest on one of the sofas. As the Healer suspected, she was asleep almost immediately. He covered her with the blanket the Doctor had used on him and then turned down the lights.

Finally the time travelers were able to speak privately. The Doctor knew what was coming the moment Jason turned to him. He stated bluntly that he did not believe his companion was ready for the whole truth. Much of what had gone on while he was ill would have to wait. Period.

Jason reluctantly accepted this condition, knowing it would be useless to argue. Suddenly the Doctor was firing questions at him, being most interested in what the young man actually did remember, since he was obviously still fuzzy on some things.

The Alterran thought a moment. He remembered becoming ill and instructing the Doctor to restrain him, recalling the chills and fever that followed almost immediately after that. Then… there was nothing but a jumble of disjointed images until he came partially to his senses in the main tank at the Freeland Center. He had felt as if he were in limbo most of the time, and was able to recall some of the events leading up to the break-in. This seemed a pivotal event, as everything that followed was perfectly clear; from his rescue of Frankie, to their journey to the temple that led him to the Doctor and Alex.

Jason did not—or more accurately could not—bring himself to tell the Doctor of the overwhelming feelings of hatred, resentment, and jealousy from his dreams; feelings that were so inexplicably aimed at the Time Lord himself. Nor could he shake the terrifying, gnawing feeling that his friend would reject him outright were he to find out about them, banishing him from his presence forever. Something he could not bear at this uncertain point in time.

Giving way to an involuntary shudder, the Alterran quietly said, "How you knew forcing me into a confrontation would help me get my memory back is beyond me."

"If I could've avoided it, you know I would have," the Time Lord informed gently.

"I know. Mt. Jason erupts yet again." Jason lowered his eyes and shook his head. "My temper's been a curse to me for as long as I can remember. But if it weren't for that, Alex would probably be dead now."

The Doctor remained silent. This was indeed true, as were a number of other things of which his companion was still unaware. Seeing Jason stifle a yawn, he suggested, "I think you should get some sleep yourself. I'll keep an eye on Alex for you."

* * *

Jason awoke with a start and sat up, looking around as if expecting to be somewhere else. The first thing he noticed was the Doctor had gone and he wondered why his friend had left without waking him. He got to his feet, checking on his Teggellan friends. Frankie was still sleeping soundly, as was Alex.

The Doctor returned while the Healer was checking his patient and crossed to him. "Good morning," he said in a hushed voice. "Sleep well?"

"No nightmares, if that's what you mean," Jason replied in an equally hushed tone. Turning his gaze to the woman on the sofa, he added, "I hope the same holds true for her."

This was not to be. Within a few minutes, Frankie's sleep was invaded by nightmares. Jason was beside her just as she began whimpering, a cry of terror escaping her when he touched her. In tears and trembling, she sat up and hugged him in relief.

"You're alright," Jason soothed. "It was just a dream."

"Oh, Chris, when are they going to end?" she wailed, not realizing she had called him by the wrong name.

"I don't know," the Healer said gently as he wiped away her tears. "Healing takes time."

"Perhaps a little something to eat might help," the Doctor suggested.

Jason nodded. "That's a good—" He broke off when his extraordinary hearing picked up the sound of Alex stirring. He turned to look across the room. "I think there may be four for breakfast," he remarked, rising to his feet.

The sound of Frankie's cry had roused the sleeping Alex who was fully awake by the time Jason arrived at his bedside. "Good morning," the Healer said happily. "How are you feeling today?"

"Awful," came the blunt reply.

Jason chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You took quite a beating."

"I was an idiot," Alex moaned painfully.

"You'll have plenty of time for recriminations, my dear Alex," Jason admonished as Frankie came up beside him. "You're going to be laid up for quite a while. I should think that will curtail any further heroics on your part."

Puzzled, Alex threw a questioning glance in Frankie's direction before asking, "Who are you?"

"Jason Krystovan. I'm you're doctor."

The injured man snorted painfully. "You're just a kid."

With a grin, the Healer replied enigmatically, "You of all people should know that nothing is as it appears on the surface."

The Security Chief was even more puzzled.

"Do you think you could handle a little food?" Jason asked.

With a small smile, Alex replied, "I think I could handle quite a lot, now that you mention it."


	19. Memories From Limbo

**CHAPTER 19**

**MEMORIES FROM LIMBO  
**

While Jason prepared a suitable breakfast for all concerned, the Doctor and Frankie told the amazed Alex Grove how he came to be in his pseudo-hospital room. Shaking his head, the Security Chief still could not quite believe what he was hearing. "That kid…is Crystal?" he said in amazement, looking from the Doctor to Frankie and back. "It's unbelievable. I know you already told me, Doctor, but…I mean, well…he's just a _kid_."

Before the Doctor could inform him of the startling fact that his physician was more than a hundred years old, Frankie cut in, "Young or old, he's still the one who saved your life. So don't be so damned condescending."

"You'll forgive me, Dr. Albert," Alex said acidly. "I'm not as used to all this as _you_ obviously are."

"Alright, enough of that," Jason snapped with the authority he rarely used. He crossed the room, glaring at the two as if they were a pair of disobedient children. "The both of you can drop the gloves _and_ the act. I'm not buying it."

Alex and Frankie exchanged a look of mutual astonishment.

"Jason, what are you talking about?" the Doctor asked in bewilderment

His companion gave an indignant snort. "I'm talking about this pretense of hostility. Whenever they're alone, its Alex and Frankie, laughing and joking like old friends. But when they've got an audience, its Mr. Grove and Dr. Albert at each other's throats like a couple of jackals." He turned back to the astonished pair and said, "Why don't you just admit you love one another and have done with it?"

"What…? How…?" Alex breathed.

"I was wrong," Dr. Albert said guiltily. "You're not just observant, you're intelligent, too."

"As it happens, I'm very intelligent," Jason replied coolly. "And I'm considerably older than I appear. Just you remember that." With that, he returned to the cart he had abandoned by the door. Frankie helped Alex with his breakfast while the Doctor and Jason had theirs in the lounge area.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on them?" the Time Lord asked as he watched the Teggellans across the room.

Jason gave a wry smile. "I've been watching them for days, Doctor. It needed saying."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "I picked up one of the local news broadcasts last night. It seems the Cult has been exonerated in connection to the break-in and Alex is now suspected of engineering the whole thing." Pausing, he added hesitantly, "And…I seem to be wanted for questioning."

Clearly appalled, Jason shook his head in disbelief. "What a planet." After a moment, he asked, "Doctor, did you ever hear of Teggell before we came here? I'm sure I've heard or read about it before. I just can't remember where."

The Doctor gave him a mildly surprised look. "I've stopped fighting," Jason admitted, a self-conscious smile coming to his face. "It just gives me a headache and then it makes me dizzy. If I let it alone, like you told me in the first place, it just comes back on its own."

"I'm glad you finally decided to take my advice on something," the Time Lord replied. "Y'know, now that you mention it, the name does ring a bell. But I don't recall if it's in the past or future."

Jason rose to his feet. "Oh, please, don't confuse me with timelines, Doctor, I'm having enough trouble as it—" Catching his breath, he cried, "I know! It was in one of my books on ancient history." So saying, he strode from the room.

The Doctor suddenly realized what he meant and dashed to the door to stop him. It was too late. The corridor was empty. Thumping his fist on the wall in frustration, he decided it best not to follow, turning back into the room. He noticed Alex and Frankie watching him in bewilderment and threw a quick glance back to the door. "He's not going to be pleased when he sees his room," he said darkly.

This was the Doctor's second understatement of the century. As soon as Jason turned down the corridor leading to his room he stopped dead in his tracks. Ahead of him his bedroom door lay in a battered heap several feet from where it belonged. He slowly approached his room and hesitantly looked in, the devastation horrifying him. It was as if he had been transported back into a nightmare from which he could not awaken. He righted his toppled bookshelf, finding part of his herb collection in an unsalvageable pile beneath. He went over to examine the splintered remnants of his bed, finding the twisted and useless chains that had been used to manacle him.

Straightening, Jason ran a hand through his hair. _So this is what the Doctor meant about my not being ready for the whole truth_. He went to the sink to splash cold water in his face only to discover what was left of his newly acquired set of beakers. To his added horror, he found some of the shards had traces of the Doctor's blood on them. He lifted one to the light and for a fleeting instant the hatred and murderous rage he'd felt the day of his disappearance swept over his entire being. Jason dropped the offending glass fragment, which shattered further in the sink. Turning away only caused him to see the devastation from where he knew his friend would have been standing when attacked.

The thought of inflicting so much physical injury on his best friend finally broke Jason's spirit and he slid down to the floor, curling up in the corner. He was convinced he was slowing going mad, and was unable to do anything to stop it. He covered his face and wept bitterly.

* * *

When his companion did not return after more than an hour, the Doctor was about to go looking for him when he appeared in the doorway, visibly shaken. "I shouldn't've gone," he said dazedly.

"I tried to stop you," the Doctor said gently as he guided him to the sofa. "You were too quick for me."

Jason smiled halfheartedly. "The story of my life."

"I take it you found what you were looking for," the Time Lord observed, looking pointedly at the book in his companion's hand.

"Yeah. I haven't looked up the passages yet. I just picked up the book and came back."

Frankie had been sitting with the Doctor when Jason returned, and was about to remark on the young man's statement when she received a stern look. It was obvious from the Time Lord's expression that he did not want her to say anything and she wisely remained silent.

"I remembered," Jason said quietly, his eyes on the unopened book, "that Teggell had something to do with the pre-Alliance era. I think that's the right time. I'm not sure." Running his fingers through his hair, he looked up. "Is this what it's like to have a normal memory? How do you stand it? I _hate_ not being able to remember."

The Doctor chose not to respond directly. "You'll have plenty of time to read up on everything, now that Alex will be with us for a while."

Jason gave him a puzzled look and it was Frankie who replied to his unspoken question. "The Doctor told us about the news broadcast while you were gone."

* * *

Once he'd pulled himself together Jason went to the sickbay to correlate all the data on Alex Grove's injuries, recording everything in a notebook. With this done, he finally felt ready to read his book on ancient history. What he hadn't told the Doctor was he had already remembered the planet's significance, verifying it by rereading the text.

The Alterran put the book aside and sat staring into space, the swirling images from his nightmare world returning to mind with renewed clarity. Once again there was the burning hatred, the all-consuming desire for power, and the overwhelming rage that was still so inexplicably aimed at the Doctor.

Slamming his fist on the table, Jason got to his feet, pacing back and forth like a caged lion. No! He would not let it happen again, he swore to himself. He was not mad, and would not let his temper rule him.

The Healer strode out the door and headed back to Alex's room, unexpectedly meeting the Doctor in the corridor. The Time Lord's face was grave and, for a split second, the young man feared he suspected the true cause of his inner turmoil.

"Jason, is Alex well enough for you to leave altogether?" the Doctor asked suddenly. His companion was puzzled. "Leave? You mean, leave the TARDIS?"

"Yes."

The Healer considered a moment. "Yes, I suppose so. He's not in danger anymore. He's just got to take it easy and let his body heal. Why? Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes. I'd like you to come with me to put a stop to this Cult. Expose it for what it really is."

The Alterran was silent, uncertain as to whether he was ready for this. Suddenly he heard himself saying, "I'll need to make doubly sure Alex is fit enough for me to leave. And then I'll have to brief Frankie on what to do while we're gone. That'll probably take about an hour."

"Good. I'll be in the console room."

* * *

Alex was dozing when Jason took Frankie aside to tell her he and the Doctor would be leaving for a while. He gave her a run down on what to do for Alex and the medication she could give him for pain. He then drew a map indicating the location of the nearest kitchen area as well as the route back to the console room. Jason sketched the control console, circling the door lever so she would know how to get out, putting the notebook with Alex's medical data under the map.

"If I don't come back, you'll probably need to get Alex to a hospital. I've put everything they'll need to know in this, not that they'll understand some of it."

Frankie was stunned by the finality of his tone. "What do you mean, _if_ you don't come back?"

The young man met her gaze steadily. "Frankie, two men have already been murdered, Alex almost died, and you and the Doctor were left for dead. I'm just considering the odds."

Frankie nodded. It was all so horribly true. She studied his set expression and felt a pang of grief when she realized all the fear and anxiety she had once seen there was gone. "You're so different now. So confident and unafraid. You're not Chris anymore, are you?" she observed mournfully.

Jason was taken aback by this unexpected remark. _If you only knew_, he thought. Looking deep into her eyes, he threw caution to the wind and did what he'd wanted to do for two days. Pulling her close, he kissed her gently, yet passionately on the mouth. Frankie was so astonished she gave no resistance, not sure she even wanted to.

Stroking her cheek with his hand, Jason said calmly, "That was from Chris." He then turned and strode from the room leaving the dazzled woman staring after him.


	20. They've Got Him

**CHAPTER 20**

"**THEY'VE GOT HIM…"**

Jason arrived at the console room to find the Doctor brooding. This in itself was not unusual in the midst of so serious a situation, but for reasons he could not fathom, the Alterran found it very disconcerting. He said nothing, however, silently following the Time Lord outside and waiting as he locked the door.

"Well, my Lord and Master," he said in a mildly sarcastic tone, "where to now?"

The Doctor turned to face him. "Jason, you're not still upset about that, are you?"

"Good Lord, no! Not unless you're still upset about my throwing you around like a rag doll. It's a miracle I didn't break something." Drawing a deep breath, he said, "Doctor, in my room…I found glass…with your blood on it. That's how your hands got sliced up, isn't it? I threw you into it."

The Doctor took him by the shoulders. "Jason, you were sick and delirious and out of your head. _Now_ you're not. I'm not angry with you for what you did while you were ill, but if you don't stop feeling sorry for yourself, I'll hit you again."

Jason's eyes flashed and he broke into a broad smile. "Fair enough. But you still haven't told me where we're going."

"Back to the Temple."

"What! Are you crazy?"

"Probably." So saying, the Time Lord set off through the woods, leaving his aghast companion staring after him.

"Doctor, if Brogan catches you there again, he'll kill you!" Jason called as he came running after him.

"I am aware of that, dear boy. That's why you're coming with me. I think it's high time the Cult of Jaka was confronted by its Guardian, don't you?"

The Doctor's delighted smile was met with a dark look. "And just what happens if they decide to take a shot at their Guardian?" the Alterran asked pointedly. "I may be able to absorb high energy bursts, but old-fashioned projectile weapons are another matter entirely."

The Doctor scowled, this thought obviously having never occurred to him. "Then we'll both have to be careful, won't we?"

* * *

The time travelers arrived at the Temple just before dusk. It looked just as it had when the Doctor and Alex were attacked, deserted. Even before the building was in sight, Jason started to get edgy. He could not put his finger on why, thinking his ill ease was due to what had happened to his friends. It wasn't until he saw the Temple that his fear became more than he could stand. "We have to go back," he said fearfully, taking hold of the Time Lord's arm. "_You_ have to go back."

"What? Now, Jason, don't start getting hysterical on me," the Doctor admonished. "You can see there's no one—" He broke off when his companion's grip tightened. Whether it was as a warning or from fear he could not tell.

"No, Doctor, it's this place. Can't you feel it? There's evil here. All around us."

"Now you're stating to sound like Leela," the Doctor snorted disapprovingly.

"I wish she were here. She'd convince you. You are in real danger here," the Alterran said warningly. "I can't explain it. I just know. You've _got_ to believe me."

The panic in the young man's voice was undeniably real and it was this that the Doctor chose to believe. "Perhaps you should have a little scout round first. Just to make certain all is as it should be," he suggested.

This sounded an excellent idea and Jason transmuted into a seagull, flying to the Temple while the Doctor withdrew to a safer distance, which proved to be a mistake on both their parts. The Doctor had no sooner come around a thicket than he came face to face with two Cultists, who promptly grabbed him. A third man came up behind the struggling Time Lord, stunning him with sharp blow on the back of the head.

Unaware of the Doctor's capture, Jason flew completely around the Temple, seeing no one near the place. The impression of evil continued to grow the closer he got, as did the feelings of rage and hatred. The large ornamental doors were closed, making it impossible for him to see inside. He did see two men near the monolith at the base of the cliff and was intrigued. The transformed Alterran wheeled around and flew down to investigate.

Oblivious to the squawking bird, the men appeared to be trying to translate the inscription on the monolith. As far as Jason could see, they were failing miserably. It was written in an ancient form of his own language. Riding the air currents, he read what turned out to be a warning. The inscription stated that Jaka should remain forever separated from his power source. To reunite him with his power would bring death to all living things and possibly an end to the universe.

_Ominous_, Jason thought as he returned to the top of the cliff. In the distance he saw another stone structure and went to investigate, seeing it was a small shrine of some sort. He landed and returned to his human form, looking around in amazement. Four large ornate columns, each corresponding with one of the major compass points, held up the domed roof. "It must be the guidance system's triangulating compass," he muttered.

In the center of the shrine was a large stone alter that Jason assumed had been put there to make the place look authentic. Running a hand over its surface, he discovered two things; traces of blood, which meant the alter was more than ornamental; and he was trembling. "I cannot let this get to me," he said angrily. "Come on, Krystovan, pull yourself together."

After a minute, Jason flew back to the woods, going to where he had agreed to meet the Doctor, who was nowhere in sight. Returning to his human form, the Alterran started to back track, grumbling to himself the whole time, having assumed his friend had wandered off. _Again_. It wasn't until Jason found a rock with the Doctor's blood on it that he realized what must have happened and he blanched visibly. "They've got him…" he breathed in horror.

* * *

The Doctor regained consciousness inside the temple control room to find himself being immobilized on a large flat slab that was integrated into one wall. When he had first seen it, he thought it to be a strategic planning table. Now it seemed to have other, more sinister functions. There were circles covering the table's surface from which long metal strips emerged on either side of his extremities, overlapping each other to secure him in place.

"You lead charmed life, Doctor," Brogan remarked as the final set of clamps locked into place. "I thought I'd seen the last of you yesterday."

"Life's full of little surprises," the Time Lord replied aridly. "Been playing with the controls, have you?"

Brogan smiled evilly. "A few. This little gadget has enormous possibilities." Fixing his prisoner with an icy stare, he asked, "Who helped you escape?"

"They didn't introduce themselves. We were being shot at at the time."

"You'd do well to dispense with this annoying flippancy, Doctor. It will save you a great deal of pain." Reaching over to the console, the High Priest touched a switch and there was an ominous crackle of energy from above. "Allow me to demonstrate." He turned the dial above the switch. Instantly hundreds of arcs resembling miniature lightning bolts played over the body of the trapped Time Lord causing him to cry out in pain.

Brogan watched with cold-blooded delight as his prisoner writhed helplessly beneath the onslaught. After a few seconds, the device was turned off and the Doctor fell back, dazed.

"That was only the primary setting," the High Priest informed threateningly. "Now. Who helped you escape?"

"You won't…believe me," the Doctor replied weakly.

"Try me."

Seeing no alternative, the Doctor said, "It was Dr. Albert. She wasn't killed by your Guardian. She was saved by him."

Brogan's eyes narrowed. "I warned you…"

"It's the truth!" The rest of the Doctor's protests were cut off as the energy played over his body once more. He strained against the clamps, but found it impossible to escape them or the hundreds of needle sharp stabs being inflicted by the energy bolts. When the source of his torment finally ceased, he went limp, feeling completely drained.

"Who are you?" Brogan demanded.

In a voice that was scarcely above a whisper, his prisoner replied, "I've…already told you. I'm…the Doctor."

"What are you?"

The Doctor blinked up at him, his vision clearing slowly. "I'm a traveler."

"From where? You're not from Teggell. I already know that."

"You don't seem surprised, if you don't mind my saying so."

"No," Brogan replied calmly. "Like yourself, I am not from this planet. And neither is this Temple, as you well know. The power source was hidden when the so-called jealous gods came to put Jaka into bondage. I believe those jealous gods were space travelers. Like you."

"Brogan, you know perfectly well I'm not a god."

"Perhaps not. But I think you're descended from the gods in the myth," the High Priest observed astutely. Picking up his battered volume on Teggellan mythology, he read, _"…and although his enemies' form and countenance were like those of mortal men, they bore within their bodies the irony of having two hearts, yet possessing none."_ Looking up, Brogan remarked, "Not unlike yourself. And it was you, Doctor, who opened the door. I've spent the better part of three years trying to find the trigger, and you found it on the first try."

"Beginner's luck?" the Doctor ventured. Seeing his captor's hand nearing the switch, he said quickly, "Look, let's stop all these silly games. What do you want from me?"

"What makes you think—?"

"You must want something or you'd've killed me by now."

Brogan looked thoughtfully down at him a moment. "Tell me how to open the chest."

The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"You heard me."

"My dear Brogan, I've never even seen this chest of yours. How am I supposed to tell you how to open it?"

"You opened the door, didn't you? How did you do that?"

The Doctor remained silent a little too long for the High Priest's liking and the device was switched on again, breaking his silence with a cry of pain. Another followed almost immediately as his torment was increased by another click of the dial, the energy bolts stabbing him with greater force.

Enjoying the power he held over his helpless captive, Brogan watched sadistically for several seconds before finally cutting the power. "Now, Doctor," he said coldly. "How did you open the door?"

Dazed and breathless, the Doctor looked fuzzily up at his tormentor. "With a…sonic device," he said in a weak voice. "It…hasn't been…invented on this…planet yet."

Brogan cursed himself for not having thought of this sooner. "How incredibly simple," he muttered and proceeded to go through the pockets of his defenseless prisoner.

The Doctor remembered, to his relief, that he'd left his sonic screwdriver in the pocket of the coat he had dropped in a sodden mass on the console room floor. With all the things that had happened in the interim, he had completely forgotten to empty the pockets. "You won't find it," he informed softly. "I don't have it with me now."

His captor glared hatefully down at him. "Where is it? I must get into that chest!" Brogan waved a hand in the direction of the inoperative main control panel where the Doctor finally saw the infamous chest.

"I seriously doubt that that chest will be as easy to open as the door," the Time Lord observed. "The locking mechanism will very likely be of a completely different order."

"And you're going to help me find out what it is."

"No, I'm not. I'm not going to help you, Brogan, so you might as well kill me now."

An evil smile came to the face of the High Priest. "Oh, you'll help me alright, Doctor," he purred. "Eventually."

The Doctor knew what was coming next and said insistently, "Listen to me, Brogan. You've no idea what you're dealing with here—"

"And you do?" came the unbelieving reply.

"Yes! That power source is unstable. Even its own creators couldn't completely control it."

Brogan snorted. "Its creators were destroyed centuries ago."

"No, they weren't! You must—" The rest of the Doctor's words were cut off when another explosion of energy bolts assaulted him.

"Enough lies!" the High Priest snarled, turning up the intensity one notch more and tearing another scream of agony from the Time Lord's throat. "I've searched three very long years for that power source, Doctor, and I'll have the truth out of you yet. If you know the origins, then you must know the key. Now what is it!"

Fighting the incessant and blinding pain racking his body, the Doctor gritted his teeth, flatly and defiantly refusing to help in any way.

Brogan growled in anger, his hand tightening on the dial. "You _will_ tell me," he said coldly and started turning the dial towards its maximum setting, one excruciating notch at a time.

The trapped Time Lord writhed and twisted helplessly in his bonds, each relentless click of the dial wrenching another scream of agony from him.

"Just how much pain can you endure, Doctor?" Brogan asked tauntingly.


	21. You Opened It!

**CHAPTER 21**

"**YOU OPENED IT!"**

The exterior doors of the Temple were abruptly thrown open with a bang. Brogan spun around to see a breathless Jason practically collapse in the entrance of the control room. He had heard the Doctor's tortured screams as the intensity of his pain increased and followed the sound at a full run. Taking in the situation in a glance, Jason looked around, seeing Brogan's ornamental staff just inside the door. Snatching it up, he pulled the knife from its hiding place and hurled it across the room. Alarmed, the High Priest took a step back, but it wasn't him Jason was aiming for. The blade found its mark embedding itself in the control panel, which promptly exploded into a shower of sparks. A split second later the excruciating bombardment ceased and the Doctor fell back, unconscious.

"For your sake, Brogan, he'd better be alive," Jason snarled threateningly.

Pulling the knife from the charred panel, Brogan turned menacingly to the intruder at the door. "Who the devil are you?"

The Alterran gave him a wry smile. "My name would mean nothing to you, High Priest. But the title you've given me might. I'm the Guardian."

For a moment Brogan was unsure if he should laugh or be annoyed. It was only when the audacious youth calmly entered the room that he realized he was more than annoyed. He was enraged.

The three men who had captured the Doctor had also seen Jason dash into the Temple and they appeared in the doorway just as he moved into the computer room.

"Kill this boy," Brogan ordered.

Jason spun around to see the men bearing down on him. He immediately returned to his true form, stopping the Cultists dead in their tracks. They stood staring in a combination of awe and terror, allowing the Alterran to take the advantage. He entwined his would-be attackers, effortlessly flinging them, one-by-one, out of the room. They slammed into the far wall with a sickening thud, falling to the floor of the Temple area in an undignified pile of bodies.

Suddenly feeling trapped, Brogan shrank back as the Alterran seemed to float into the room. Putting the knife near the throat of the unconscious Time Lord, the High Priest said, "Keep back! Keep back or he dies!"

"If he dies, then you die, High Priest," Jason hissed back venomously. "And I warn you, I know how to repair that panel."

Brogan shuddered but stayed where he was, hoping the monstrous aberration blocking his way would not press the situation.

He did not.

Content in the knowledge that he could deal with Brogan later, Jason turned his attention to the seemingly unopenable box. Winding a tendril around the container, he scanned it, letting out an involuntary cry. "It's a Keltian puzzle box!" he squeaked. "How disappointing. I was expecting something difficult." So saying, he turned the box on end, inserted a tendril into each of the fifteen holes and twisted. To Brogan's astonishment, there was a loud pop and the chest hinged open like a book. Jason then removed a set of stacked trays containing what looked like stone balls, all but one being about the size of an orange.

"You opened it!" the High Priest gasped, having found his voice at last. He straightened to look over at the object of his years of searching, taking the knife from the Doctor's throat at the same time. "How...? How…did you do that?"

"Even a child can open one of these old things," came the condescending reply. The largest of the spheres was about the size of grapefruit and Jason picked it up, catching his breath at the same time, being amazed and horrified. "So," he said softly, "it's not a legend after all."

Brogan, on the other hand, was disappointed when he saw it. "It's just a stone ball."

"That's what you think," the Alterran replied darkly. "This is an undamaged set of Epsilon power circuits." His eyes glowed fiercely a moment as a ghost memory floated through his head, the words "power of old_"_ echoing through his brain.

Jason was jolted back to reality when his powerful sensors detected movement and he heard an almost imperceptible moan as the Doctor stirred weakly. Without turning, he was able to redirect his line of vision by simply using a different set of sensors, the crystals surrounding his body changing in brightness as he turned his gaze across the room. This process severely rattled the already shaken High Priest, who returned the knife to the Time Lord's throat as the Alterran silently drew closer.

Jason ignored him completely, being more interested in his slowly recovering friend. "Doctor?" he said gently. "Doctor, can you hear me?"

The Doctor's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the familiar voice. He felt drained and fuzzy and more than a little bewildered, especially when he realized there was a knife at his throat. Focusing with difficulty on the shape near his feet, he relaxed when he realized it was only his companion in his true form. "Jason…" he said in a relieved whisper.

"You were expecting, maybe, the Guardian?" the Alterran quipped, receiving a weak smile in return. "Are you alright?" he then asked in a serious tone.

"I am now."

Brogan was beginning to feel snubbed and pressed the blade a little more firmly against the Doctor's throat causing him to stiffen visibly. He was still immobilized by the clamps and completely powerless to defend himself.

"I don't know who or _what_ you are," the High Priest began menacingly, "and I don't care! Now just back off, or—"

"Or the Doctor dies," Jason completed blandly. "Yes, I know. I believe you said that already."

Brogan's mouth dropped open. It seemed impossible to faze this creature.

"Look, I'll deal with you later," the creature was saying patiently. "Right now I've got some power circuits to destroy."

"No! No, you can't! You mustn't!" Brogan was on the point of panic. "If you really are the Guardian, then you _must_ know it's your duty to protect them—"

"Protect them from what? Or should I ask, from whom?" Jason asked pointedly. "The fact of the matter is, my duty is to see to it this control room never becomes fully operational. Not by you. Not by anyone."

Brogan watched helplessly as Jason started to move back toward the power source, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent its destruction. He suddenly remembered the knife in his hand and his eyes blazed with a murderous fury. He turned to the trapped Time Lord and smiled evilly, clamping a hand firmly over his mouth.

The Doctor tensed as the blade was again brought to his neck, moving under his ear. It was all too obvious his captor meant to slit his throat.

Once again Jason's powerful sensors saved his friend's life. He had detected the High Priest's treachery and was behind the astonished man before he even realized. A powerful tendril wound around Brogan's arm, forcing the knife from his hand. To prevent any recurrence, Jason then flipped him neatly across the room.

Out in the Temple area, Johnson had been listening to the conversation in the computer room with keen interest. He had discovered the doors open and found the three perimeter guards lying senseless on the floor. Pulling his gun, he then inched his way along the wall until he was at the edge of the control room door. Hearing the finality in Jason's voice, he dropped to one knee and appeared in the entryway, gun in hand. He was momentarily stunned when he saw the creature he had come to know as Crystal within the room and watched in amazement as it sent Brogan sailing through the air.

Jason picked up the movement at the door but had no way to get out of the line of fire in the confined space. It was only Johnson's hesitation that allowed him the time to get out from in front of the Doctor before the weapon was emptied into the room. The cornered Alterran was struck three times before he dropped to the floor, more bullets striking him on the way down, the last exploding into a wall panel.

The Doctor was horrified by the sudden and violent turn of events but could only watch helplessly from his place on the ancient torture device. He tried desperately to push the clamps open, but didn't have nearly the strength this required. They remained firmly locked shut. He raised his head to see his companion lying in a motionless ball a few feet away, his crystalline sensors completely dark. As far as the Doctor could tell Jason was dead.

"Good work, Johnson," the shaken High Priest said as he picked himself up off the floor. "That was perfect timing."

Johnson smiled. "Only bad timing on that thing's part. I came to tell you it'll be dark soon. The others are already arriving."

"The assemblage! I forgot all about it."

"I can see why."

Brogan waved a hand dismissively. "No, not that. Just look over there."

Johnson followed his gaze, his eyes growing wide when he saw the open box, its contents beside it. "It's open! How did you manage it?" He dumped the spent shells from his gun as he spoke, reloading the weapon as he crossed the room.

"I'll tell you all about it later. I want to install them first. Then we can deal with him." Brogan nodded in the Doctor's direction.

The two exchanged a meaningful look before glancing over at the captive Time Lord, who could tell by their expressions that they were planning an extremely unpleasant, if not excruciating death for him.

"Have the building surrounded," the High Priest ordered. "I don't want any interruptions while I'm installing the power source." He took a seat in front of the main control board and picked up a sphere.

Unable to resist the temptation, Johnson put down his gun and picked up one of the heavy, stone-like balls, putting a fingertip into a small indentation in what seemed to be its base. "Are you sure these thing'll work?" he asked, returning the ball to the tray.

"We'll know soon enough."

Johnson grunted and left, kicking the three stunned men in the Temple area back to their senses before shoving them out the door ahead of him.

The Doctor waited until Johnson had gone before he spoke again, his voice firm and serious. "Brogan, you mustn't reactivate that control system."

"Now don't start giving me trouble again, Doctor," the High Priest sighed without turning around, "or I may just kill you now." The spheres were all slightly different and he had to move them from hole to hole until he found the one into which it fit. The small indentation in the base fit over a pin in the bottom of the well, connecting it into the console.

"Brogan, listen to me," the Doctor said as the High Priest picked up another sphere. "That power source wasn't designed for humans. You'll never be able to control it. You'll only end up destroying this planet and yourself with it."

Fitting the stone-like orb into place, Brogan merely snorted in disbelief. "You really are getting very annoying, Doctor," he sighed, rising to his feet.

"Brogan, you must listen—" The Doctor's words were cut off as the High Priest jammed a gag into his mouth. "Now shut up! I need to concentrate," he snapped and returned to his place at the control board.

Completely powerless, the Doctor could do no more than watch as one sphere after another was fitted into place. After a few minutes, he became aware of a strange sound coming from the floor and raised his head. To his shock he saw Jason dragging himself, inch-by-inch, towards him. It was obvious the Alterran was in a great deal of pain, his body shaking with each movement.

Only one thought was keeping Jason going—free the Doctor. Animated by sheer will power he crossed the few feet necessary to get close enough to snake a long tendril up and hit the release button. The clamps securing the Time Lord clicked open and withdrew into the table.

Hearing the snap of the clamps, Brogan turned just as the Doctor sat up and pulled the gag from his mouth. "How the devil did you…?" Seeing the injured Alterran shudder, he snarled angrily, "You're both more trouble than you're worth."

Picking up the gun Johnson had been good enough to reload and leave behind, Brogan got to his feet. "Which heart do I aim for, Doctor?"


	22. Power And Destruction

**CHAPTER 22**

**POWER AND DESTRUCTION  
**

A split second before Brogan fired, Jason reached for the Epsilon circuit he had been holding when shot. It had rolled away when he fell and had apparently been forgotten by all save himself. He could actually feel the power radiating from it and knew from legends that the power could be directed, but wasn't sure if he could control it. For the Doctor's sake he knew he had to try and wound a tendril around the sphere, a burst of energy being released the instant he touched it. A protective barrier suddenly appeared in front of the astonished Time Lord, deflecting the bullet harmlessly aside. Then, just as Jason feared, he somehow lost control.

The sheet of energy abruptly wrapped itself around the horrified High Priest, who flailed wildly inside the glowing sphere, screaming in agony as he experienced the suffering he had inflicted on his countless victims during his long and vicious carrier. As the ball closed in, the intensity increased. He pleaded for mercy between his screams of torment, but there was no mercy shown to the merciless High Priest. With a final bloodcurdling shriek that can only be described as a cry of the damned Brogan vanished into oblivion.

Stunned and horrified by what he'd just witnessed the Doctor sat staring at the spot where the High Priest had been standing. There was no trace of him save for his staff.

"Doctor…" Jason gasped out painfully, bringing the shocked Time Lord back to his senses. "The power source. Destroy it."

"With pleasure," the Doctor muttered, sliding to his feet and crossing to the main control board. Brogan had installed all but two of the stone-like balls into their sockets, and the Doctor proceeded to pull them out again. He looked at the orb in his hand in uncertainty, throwing an inquiring look over at his injured companion.

"Just…smash them," Jason instructed in response to the unspoken question. "They'll…shatter like…glass."

The Doctor was, to say the least, dubious. The spheres felt like solid rock. Dashing the first to the floor, he was amazed when it shattered into hundreds of glistening and irreparable bits. Encouraged, he dashed the remaining circuits to the floor, reasoning that any large pieces could be smashed a second time once he finished.

All this noise had quite naturally attracted the attention of those positioned outside. Johnson had assumed the screams to have been from the Doctor, paying them no mind save for his own twisted delight in the suffering of others. It wasn't until he heard Brogan pleading for mercy that he realized something was seriously amiss. He then discovered his gun was missing and cursed himself when he realized he had left it on the console inside the computer room.

Collecting the others, Johnson stormed the Temple just as the Doctor smashed the last sphere from the console. For a single frozen moment, no one moved. Then a growl started deep in Johnson's throat. He had been Brogan's right-hand man for more years than he cared to remember. Together they had left a trail of havoc and carnage throughout the star system, eventually coming to Teggell in search of the ultimate weapon and its legendary power source. After three years of searching, and on the very eve of gaining control, it had all been snatched away. Destroyed by this interfering stranger. Now nothing was left but thousands of useless fragments.

Picking up a handful of gleaming pieces, Johnson shook his fist. "You're a dead man, Doctor!" he thundered, scattering the shards back onto the floor where they turned to dust. "I'm going to break you into a hundred pieces!"

Cornered, the Time Lord was unable to do more than wait as the enraged man descended on him with murderous intent. He was roughly dragged away from the console and into the midst of the group. Johnson ordered him taken to the Temple shrine where they would be able to take out their revenge by breaking every bone in his body.

This was the plan.

This never happened.

Forgotten by all present, Jason again snaked a tendril around the only intact Epsilon circuit remaining, which still lay beside him on the floor. Another sheet of energy was released and the Doctor was alarmed when it suddenly surrounded him like a bubble. He was lifted from the floor and carried back to his original place at the console where, to his relief, the bubble spread out to form a protective barrier in front of him.

Only Johnson was familiar with force fields and reacted with anger instead of awe. He threw himself at the barrier in a blind rage sealing his fate and that of the others with him. He struck the barrier with his fist and it immediately split into fragments, wrapping every member of the Cult inside his own private bubble of damnation. Like their High Priest, they experienced the hellish suffering and torment of their own pasts. Panic ensued, but none escaped, the fragments following those who tried to run. The Cult's death throes were a horror to behold and the Doctor turned away, covering his ears against the tortured screams that filled the air.

Finally, mercifully, it was over. The glowing balls of death abruptly burst like soap bubbles in the wind, removing their occupants from the cosmos for all eternity. What followed was a deafening silence.

Numb and badly shaken, the Doctor sat back against the console filled with several conflicting emotions. He stared blankly into space, trying to come to terms with the fact that his own gentle, compassionate companion and been the one responsible for the violent and barbaric scene he had just witnessed. At the same time, he could not deny the fact that Jason had just saved his life for the third time since his arrival at the Temple.

A groan of pain from across the room brought the Time Lord to his senses and he looked up in time to Jason's body convulse violently. Pushing aside his desire for an explanation, he went to his gravely wounded friend, getting down on the floor beside him. "Jason, how badly are you hurt?" he asked gently.

"Pretty bad," came the weak reply. "I took…three bullets, I think." Taking his friend by the hand, Jason's voice became unnaturally calm when he stated, "I'm dying."

"No!" the Doctor exclaimed, not wanting to believe what he knew to be true. "This is all my fault. I never should've dragged you with me."

"I didn't…have to come," Jason said in a fast fading voice. "I'm not…a child…"

"I'll remember that next time."

The Alterran squeezed his hand. "No more…next times…" Again his body shook with pain and he groaned pitifully, the glow from his eyes growing dimmer.

The Doctor cursed under his breath. "If only we were closer to the TARDIS!" he hissed. The words were scarcely out of his mouth when there was a blinding flash and he fell back, shielding his eyes with his hand. Blinking to clear his vision, he then sat bolt upright, staring in astonishment. In the center of the Temple area stood the TARDIS.

The Time Lord was instantly on his feet. Before he had the chance to comment on this extraordinary occurrence, he saw his companion's body convulse. Then Jason's eyes went completely dark, his tendrils relaxing and then going limp. The stone-like sphere rolled free, coming to rest at the Doctor's feet.

"No!" The Doctor found a weak pulse and heaved a sigh of relief. At least the boy was still alive. He wrapped the Alterran in his coat and then picked up the circuit, his first thought being to smash it. He reconsidered and slipped it into a pocket until later.

The Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and went back to his companion, gingerly lifting the limp form and carrying him in to the battered police box. He went directly to the sickbay, where with the utmost care he placed his injured friend on the same table where Alex had lain. Hesitating only a second, the Time Lord then went to find Dr. Albert.

* * *

"Doctor, I've already told you, I'm not a surgeon," Frankie protested as she was dragged into the examining room. Seeing the creature she had come to know as Crystal lying on the table, she was even more adamant. "How can you possibly imagine I could do anything while he looks like that? I might have some chance, if he looked like himself."

"My dear Dr. Albert," the Doctor said sharply, "that _is _what he looks like. Jason's human appearance is merely an illusion—"

"What!"

"—and you've had nearly a week to study him in his true form. So right now, you're the only hope he's got."

Frankie stared at the motionless form in revulsion and horror. She remembered how she had been attracted to the lost and frightened person she'd known as Chris, and how strangely giddy she had felt when he kissed her so passionately before leaving. Putting a hand to her mouth she turned away, feeling sick and betrayed. "That's what he _really_ looks like? That…that…_thing?_" she breathed in disgust. "And I let him—" she broke off and shuddered.

The Doctor was not surprised by her reaction and readily understood her feelings of anger and betrayal. Had he a choice, he never would have revealed the truth. Unfortunately, there was no time for tact or diplomacy. "He's still the same person who saved your life! And Alex's too, I might add," he snapped. "What difference does it make what he looks like as long as he's the same person inside?"

Receiving no response, the Doctor tried a different tack. "Now are you going to help me save Jason's life, or are you going to stand there like a useless female?"

The arrow found its mark. The flaming-haired woman spun around, another fire burning in her eyes. She glared angrily at the Doctor, whose expression clearly challenged her to prove him wrong. Realizing he was right, she drew a deep breath, putting her personal feelings aside. Drawing herself to her full height, she crossed to the examining table and checked over the inert form. "Doctor, there's no way of telling which of these are entries and which are exits. Or if any of them _are_ exits." Looking up, she said, "The bullets could still be in there."

"Jason mentioned three," the Time Lord informed worriedly, "but I'm sure he was hit more times than that."

The scientist threw up her hands. "This is impossible! I don't even know if any major organs are involved. If I go digging around in there, I could very well kill him myself."

The Doctor touched his motionless companion, searching for, and finding, his fast weakening pulse. "We've got to do something or he'll die."

Frankie caught her breath. "Wait a minute. He's a doctor, isn't he? A surgeon? Won't he have medical texts and things we could use? Even an anatomical diagram would be better than nothing."

Sadly, the Doctor was forced to admit that all of Jason's medical texts, as well as half of his room, were under a collapsed set of bookshelves. "We'll just have to muddle through. We've some of the finest medical equipment ever designed at our disposal, thanks to him," he said with more optimism than he felt. "Now, what would you need?"

"I'd need him back as a human," Frankie replied bluntly.

The words were no sooner out of her mouth than the Doctor let out an involuntary cry of alarm as a burst of energy suddenly flooded through him. It radiated from the Epsilon circuit in his pocket, down the arm he held to Jason's skin and poured into the body of the unconscious Alterran. There was no pain, but the Time Lord was undeniably startled by the experience. Snatching his hand away, he took an automatic step back.

Mystified by this exceptional behavior, Frankie opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong. She never got the chance. To their astonishment, Jason's body started to shimmer.


	23. Epsilon Waves

**CHAPTER 23**

**EPSILON WAVES  
**

In the blink of an eye, Jason was back in his human form. Unfortunately, he was still mortally wounded. There were two bullet wounds in the center of his chest; another further down that seemed to have punctured a lung, one in his hip, and the least serious of all in his left thigh, making five in all.

"How…? How…?" Frankie stammered.

The Doctor pulled the sphere from his pocket, having been just as astonished as Dr. Albert. "It was this!" he gasped.

"How?"

"I don't know! On its own, it's only supposed to work on Epsilon waves," came the less than helpful reply.

Frankie looked over Jason's wounds and moaned when she saw the ones in his chest. "Oh, no. It's only made things worse. Either one of those could be lodged up against his heart. If we so much as move his now, it could kill him." Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. She put her fingers to the pale young man's neck, searching for the pulse she felt certain would not be there. "We've only succeeded in—" Catching her breath, she looked up sharply. "I don't believe it! Doctor, his pulse. It's actually stronger."

"Of course!" the Time Lord exclaimed excitedly. "It must've capitalized on his natural inclination towards concealment."

"His what?"

Frankie was completely lost, and the Doctor was obviously in no mood to explain. He pulled up a stool and sat down beside his companion, who even now was struggling to return to his senses. "Jason? Jason, it's the Doctor. Can you hear me?"

The youth stirred and moaned in response to the familiar voice. The stone-like ball was then pressed into his hand.

"Jason, open your eyes!" the Doctor commanded.

The Alterran obediently opened his eyes, only to close them again in pain. Swallowing hard, he stirred, moaned, and half-opened his eyes again. "Doctor…" he whispered.

"Jason, I want you to concentrate on transmuting," the Time Lord instructed firmly.

"Can't…" came the almost inaudible reply. "No…energy."

Squeezing the young man's fingers firmly around the sphere, the Doctor said insistently, "The Epsilon sphere will give you the energy you need to heal yourself."

Jason's eyes flickered, an expression of abject terror passing over them. "No…evil…" he whispered. "So much… Out of control…"

"Jason, concentrate!" the Doctor commanded sharply. "You'll die, if you don't!" To his relief, he felt an energy burst being released from the sphere. It flooded into the dying youth, causing his body to shimmer and then glow brightly. Jason's form blurred momentarily and then returned to normal.

Frankie watched in wonderment as the Alterran's injuries healed over just as the cuts on his hand had done earlier. Once the transmutation was complete, there were no indications he had ever been shot save for the five bullets he held in his hand.

Heaving a sigh of relief, the Doctor pocketed the circuit and made a quick check on his companion's condition, finding his pulse strong and steady and his breathing normal. Giving a satisfied grunt, the Time Lord straightened. Jason appeared to be unconscious but otherwise unharmed and would very probably be back to his usual, exuberant self as soon as he awoke.

"Are you going to tell me how you did that?" Frankie said acidly. "Or am I going to be forever in the dark?"

A broad smile spread across the Time Lord's face. "I assume you're familiar with brain waves; Alpha, Beta, Delta, and the like?"

"I am vaguely familiar with electroencephalography, Doctor," Frankie replied aridly.

The Doctor was clearly impressed. Not by her knowledge of the science, but by the fact that she could pronounce the word itself. His smile broadened. "There's one particular brain wave called Epsilon that's only present in Alterrans, like our friend Jason, here." He went on to explain that this particular brain wave was connected with the ability to transmute; Epsilon activity being greatest whenever an Alterran changed form The spheres had been engineered to utilize this unique brain wave, converting thought into reality in the same way as a form change. Even while he was unconscious, Jason would have been producing the Epsilon waves, it being second nature for his race to conceal their true appearance. Only his physical weakness and lack of convertible energy had prevented the change from taking place after he had been shot.

Frankie found it difficult to take this all in. So much had been thrown at her in the last twenty-four hours. She looked at Jason's peaceful and apparently healthy figure and was struck again at how handsome he was. This only caused her to shudder, a wave of revulsion sweeping over her. She was immediately annoyed with herself that this should make a difference. She'd had no qualms about him when she thought he was a human who could change into a creature. Why should the reverse bother her so much?

Suddenly realizing the Doctor had stopped talking, Frankie looked up to see him studying her curiously. "Are you alright?" he asked, receiving a hesitant nod in reply. "I'll be fine," she said, quickly changing the subject by asking where the Epsilon sphere had come from.

"Didn't I tell you? It was in your unopenable chest. We managed to get it away from the Cult. But I'm afraid Jason's the one who suffered the worst for it." The Doctor did not elaborate further, choosing to leave that for a later time. What he did tell her was the sphere in his pocket, as well as several others, were the components that comprised the legendary power source of Jaka, just as Brogan suspected. From what he knew of them, they were enormously powerful individually, those in the chest having been designed to be integrated into a single unit forming the heart of an unimaginably powerful weapon.

"Wait a minute," Frankie interrupted. "If only Jason's…people can control these things, why were you so worried about Brogan getting hold of them?"

"Only an Alterran can control them mentally. With the right modifications, a computer can easily simulate Epsilon waves. And that Temple is nothing more than a computer control room. A very, very old one at that."

"I hate to ask," the woman began hesitantly, "but just what would've happened if you hadn't stopped him from using it?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "In all probability, he'd've vaporized the planet as soon as he switched on."

"What!" Dr. Albert was horrified.

"Fortunately, this is the only one left," the Time Lord said, pulling the sphere from his pocket again. "And it's quite harmless now."

Frankie was less than convinced, turning a dubious gaze in Jason's direction. "Are you sure of that, Doctor? _He_ was unconscious and it still worked for him. What happens when he wakes up and really puts his mind to it?"

The Doctor was about to point out that Jason had to be in direct, physical contact with the circuit for it to work when he realized the sphere had been in his pocket when the Alterran returned to his human form. Suddenly Jason's delirious rantings concerning the power of old being his, returned vividly to mind. Had his companion deliberately reset the coordinates to find the ancient circuits and the weapon for which they were intended? Was it possible his normally placid friend actually desired such power?

Before the Doctor could come to grips with any of these unsettling questions, Jason stirred and opened his eyes. "What…? What happened?" he asked softly, looking around fuzzily. "Doctor, how did we get here?"

The Doctor held up the Epsilon sphere in way of explanation and Jason groaned, the scene in the Temple coming back to him.

"How do you feel?" the Doctor asked gently.

"Tired."

Jason sat up slowly, finding the five bullets in his hand. "Good old-fashioned projectile weapons," he muttered darkly, dropping them on the examining table beside him. The Doctor cleared his throat guiltily, causing his companion to look up sharply. "It's my own fault I got shot, Doctor. I didn't even bother to shut the doors."

"I believe you were too busy saving my life," the Time Lord pointed out mildly. "Several times over."

The Alterran gave him a sideways glance and smiled, getting shakily to his feet. He took a few steps only to have his knees give way. Frankie caught hold of him to keep him from falling, guiding him back to the table. She then pulled sharply away, receiving a mystified look in re sponse.

"I'm sorry," she said shakily. "I can't. Not yet."

"Can't what?" Completely baffled, Jason turned accusingly to the Doctor. "What have you been telling her? Is it what happened at the Temple?"

"No." The Doctor threw a quick glance in Frankie's direction before saying, "It's…a reaction to your true self."

"What?" Jason was even more baffled. Frankie was more familiar with his true form than any outsider save the Doctor. Why would she…? Suddenly the Time Lord's words—and their meaning—sank in. His _true_ self, meaning she knew the reality of his appearance.

"You told her! About me?" the Alterran exploded. "The _real_ me? You told her?" His friend nodded, and he became even more incensed. "Doctor, you had no right!"

"It was necessary," the Doctor said firmly. "It's as simple as that."

"I don't believe it!" Jason clenched his fists, turned away, and then turned back, his eyes still blazing. He took an angry step forward and the Doctor knew this meant he was going to walk away to cool down, but all Frankie could see was the scene in the console room happening all over again.

"No, Jason, please, don't hurt him," she pleaded, stepping in front of him. "It was my fault, not his."

Her words were like a bucket of cold water, cooling Jason's anger instantly. He stared at her in astonishment, realizing at the same time that she was actually afraid of what he might do. "Frankie, I wasn't going to…" Looking over to his friend, he said helplessly, "I wasn't _that_ angry, Doctor. Honestly. I wasn't."

"I believe you," the Time Lord responded mildly. "Honestly."

His companion smiled weakly and decided not to press the matter further, choosing instead to change the subject entirely. Looking at the apprehensive oceanographer, he asked casually, "How's Alex?"

Dr. Albert was completely thrown. "Alex?"

"Yes, Alex. I left him in your care, remember? You haven't gone and killed him on me, have you?" Frankie gave him a disapproving scowl, causing him to break into an engaging smile. "Never mind. I'll find out soon enough." Jason started for the door, only to stop when he be came aware of the power of the Epsilon sphere pulling at him. He turned to see it still in the Doctor's hands and asked him to give it to Dr. Albert for safekeeping. "Hopefully she's not telepathic like you," he informed. "There's a chance I could still channel the power through you without meaning to. And that could cause all kinds of problems."

_Problems indeed_, thought the Doctor as he passed the circuit over to Frankie. It could also explain how the energy was released when his companion was unconscious.

The instant the stone-like ball was in Dr. Albert's hands, the Alterran stiffened and scowled, studying her curiously. "_Now_ what is it?" she demanded.

"This is amazing. I don't feel anything," Jason breathed, waving a hand over the sphere. "Absolutely nothing."

"I thought that was the idea."

"No, you don't understand. The power these things generate is phenomenal, and dissipates slowly. Even when the others were shattered, I could feel the power as it faded. But now… there's nothing."

"What's so different about me?" Frankie wanted to know.

After a momentary pause, the Doctor observed blandly, "Well, the obvious difference is that you're female."

"Of course!" Jason gasped. "The biological and hormonal differences must absorb the energy, or create a barrier."

Frankie wasn't sure if she should be proud or insulted. "Do you mean to say the only reason this thing doesn't work with me is because I'm a woman?"

"I'm only guessing, Frankie, but you obviously nullify the power completely when you're holding—" The Alterran caught his breath, his eyes growing wide. "Good grief! Brogan was right! Frankie, don't you remember what he said? _'_No woman must touch the power of Jaka.'"

Frankie's jaw dropped open and she looked down at the ball in her hands, seeing it in a new light. Shaking her head, she muttered, "Even the ancient gods were chauvinists."

"Perhaps," Jason replied blandly. "Or maybe my people's legends are right and it was designed that way."

Seeing the questioning look on the oceanographer's face, he said, "The designers felt the power would be safer if left in a woman's hands." With a so-there expression on his face, Jason strode from the room.


	24. Time For The Truth

**CHAPTER 24**

**TIME FOR THE TRUTH  
**

Jason entered Alex's room to find him sleeping soundly. The Doctor and Frankie waited outside, not wanting to disturb the recovering Teggellan.

Jason scanned his patient and gave a grunt of satisfaction. Alex was doing much better than expected and would very likely be back on his feet in no time at all. The Healer went back into the corridor, pulling the door behind him. Turning pointedly to the Doctor, he asked, "How did you know all those things you said to Brogan?"

"Concerning the Epsilon circuits, or the Projector?" the Time Lord responded calmly.

Jason felt his heart in his throat and took a startled step back. Finding his voice at last, he said, "Both."

"You're not the only one with reference materials, you know." The Doctor held out a hand and then led the way down the corridor.

Her curiosity piqued, Frankie tagged along, finding herself inside the TARDIS' enormous library. The Doctor went to the historical section containing the amassed data of several hundred thousand planets. He slipped a clear sheet of plastic into a device Jason referred to as a reader and a view screen came to life displaying an image Frankie recognized instantly. "It's the Temple!" she gasped.

It was indeed. The surrounding area had altered dramatically over the centuries, but there was no doubting it was the same structure. The monolith as the base of the cliff seemed even more enormous, the passing centuries seeing its base buried beneath several feet of the sand.

Jason moved hesitantly to the reader, touching a button to activate the program. The image of the Temple was replaced by a series of symbols that scrolled up the screen. They meant nothing to Frankie, but she could see they meant a great deal to the Alterran, whose eyes were riveted to the dis play.

"What language is that?" she asked.

"Gallifreyan," the young man replied absently as he read the text. When the file finished running, the screen went dark, as did Jason's face. He stood thoughtfully a moment before turning haltingly to the Doctor. "Why didn't you tell me you knew?" he asked finally.

"Why didn't _you_ tell _me?_" the Doctor countered, his voice more inquiring than accusatory.

"I…I…don't know. I couldn't," his companion stammered out helplessly. "I just—" Stopping he tried desperately to put his thoughts in order but could find no words to verbalize the contra dictions filling his head. How could he possibly tell the Doctor about the hatred he'd felt? The terrible delight over death and destruction?

Seeing the concerned and bewildered look on his friend's face, Jason shook his head and threw up his hands in frustration. "I'm sorry, Doctor, I don't know how to explain. It's just… ever since I got my memory back, I can't think straight."

The Doctor's growing concerns over his companion's mental stability were rekindled to the point where they were starting to really worry him. Originally he'd thought he was overreacting, brushing off the young man's odd behavior as just the after effects of his illness. Now he wasn't so sure. It wasn't like Jason to conceal something so vitally important. The scene in the Temple returned vividly to mind, as did the Alterran's semi-conscious remarks of the power being out of control. Was it possible the illness and subsequent bout of amnesia had seriously unbalanced the usually reliable young man?

"Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard," Jason sighed.

"I'm afraid I'm a bit lost," Frankie injected suddenly, startling the time travelers, who had completely forgotten she was present. The Doctor exchanged a quick glance with Jason and opened his mouth to explain.

"No, Doctor," the Alterran cut in. "I think Alex deserves to hear this, too."

* * *

Alex was awake when the trio returned to his room and upon hearing why they wanted to talk with him, he demanded they allow him to get out of bed. Despite the fact that he felt like a collection of cuts, bruises, and bandages, he insisted he was strong enough to stand, (well, perhaps with a little help) and was able to slowly cross the room. He reclined on one of the sofas where Frankie joined him.

The Doctor began the tale, explaining that the Temple of Jaka was in reality a device the Alter rans had constructed during a period of time when they were at war with the Time Lords. Its true designation was Epsilon Response And Emission Projector, the heart of the unit being the Epsilon circuits, the strange stone-like balls contained in the chest. Once the circuits were in place, they transformed the unit into the ultimate weapon.

Ironically, during the construction of the Projector, a truce had been reached and it seemed as if it would never be needed.

"Unfortunately, Jaka had other things in mind," Jason said darkly.

"You mean…?" Alex gasped. "He actually existed?"

"Yes, unfortunately," the Alterran replied, taking up the story. The real Jaka was the designer of the Epsilon Projector and had been sent, in secret, to complete its construction in the event that negotiations broke down and war resumed, which it did not. The Projector was ordered dismantled but Jaka refused, having become obsessed with the power his device could bring him. He killed those who were sent to deactivate the unit, proclaiming himself Emperor and threatening to destroy anyone who dared oppose him. Suddenly the old enemies of Alterrous and Gallifrey found themselves with a common foe and joined forces to stop him.

"Just as your myth states," the Doctor injected, "it was only through the combined forces of these two races that Jaka was finally stopped. The one good thing to come out of it was that the alliance of necessity eventually paved the way for what is now a permanent and long standing Alliance of choice."

"Yes…" Jason said softly. "But at such a price."

Frankie was confused. "If this Projector was so terrible, why wasn't it destroyed?"

"And why wasn't the power source destroyed along with it?" Alex injected.

"Apparently Jaka tipped his hand too soon and was betrayed before he could establish his stronghold," the Doctor explained. "Legend has it when he realized he couldn't fight the combined forces that were lined against him he hid the power source. Just as your own legend states, he laughed at his captors when they discovered it was beyond their reach."

"And Jaka himself?" Alex asked. "What happened to him?"

"According to _my_ people's history," Jason injected, "the Time Lords cast him into the sea in his true form, although I'm not sure what difference that would've made. It wouldn't've harmed him at all."

"It would, however, explain how the myth of the Guardian got started," the Doctor injected thoughtfully.

Pulling the Epsilon circuit from her pocket, Frankie looked at it in amazement. "And this is the only one left."

"Yes," Jason replied. "And with it, we're going to fuse the controls in the computer room."

The Doctor turned sharply to him. "We are?"

"The Epsilon spheres aren't the only power source that computer will run off of, Doctor," his companion pointed out. "Brogan called it the ultimate weapon, and you know he was right. With the computer still intact—"

"Someone else might try to use it. Yes, I see your point."

"You're not going all the way back to the Temple again, are you?" Dr. Albert moaned.

The Doctor cleared his throat. "It's nearer than you think, thanks to Jason."

His companion lowered his eyes and said nothing. Suddenly the power from the sphere radiated through him and he looked up sharply, seeing Alex had taken it from Frankie.

"I still don't see how this little thing can do all the things you say it can," Alex remarked. "I mean, godlike powers? How can it?"

Rising to his feet, Jason went over to the injured man and placed a hand on the ball. Looking the puzzled Teggellan in the eye, he smiled and said softly, "Be healed, Alex."

The sphere flashed and Alex caught his breath as the energy flooded through him. His bruises vanished, his wounds healed over, and his body was strengthened. In less than a second, he was completely well, not to mention dressed in his own clothes. He sat bolt upright, looking down at himself and then up at Jason, his mouth agape.

"Is that godlike enough for you?"

"How…? How did you _do_ that?" Alex asked, finding his voice at last.

Tapping the side of his head, Jason said simply, "Epsilon waves. I'm Alterran." He turned to Frankie and smiled affectionately. "May I heal you, too, Frankie? I can take away your nightmares."

"Jason…" the Doctor said in an almost threatening tone.

"I know, I know. Don't get carried away." Taking the circuit from the now healthy Alex, his companion requested, "Allow me this one indulgence as a minor deity. Once the computer's disabled, this'll be smashed into a thousand useless fragments and I'll be plain old Jason again."

With a conciliatory smile, the Doctor said, "Alright. But just this once."

A broad smile spread across the Healer's face and he turned back to Frankie. "Well?" he asked, holding out a hand.

The oceanographer consented, taking a deep breath as she took his outstretched hand. She expected to feel the flash of energy and was surprised when she felt nothing. Looking up, she saw Jason was equally puzzled. "Don't tell me I nullify the power when you try to use it on me, too?" she moaned.

"Of course, that's it! I must have to avoid physical contact with you to make it work." Releasing her hand, Jason tried again. Within seconds, she too was completely healed and able to move without pain for the first time in two days.

"And now for the computer," Jason said as he handed the sphere back to Frankie.


	25. Jaka

**CHAPTER 25**

**JAKA**

The physically restored Teggellans followed the Doctor and Jason to the console room and Alex, who had been unconscious when brought aboard, was astounded by the TARDIS' vast interior. By this time he was very glad that his obviously alien hosts were on his side.

"What happens if the Cult comes back while you're working on the computer?" the Security Chief asked as they entered the console room.

"There is no more Cult," Jason replied with unnerving finality.

Frankie was puzzled and annoyed by this comment. "What do you mean there is no more Cult? Did you manage to get Brogan and his lunatic followers arrested after all?"

"Not exactly," the Alterran responded guiltily. Holding up a hand, he said firmly, "Please, don't ask, Frankie. You don't want to know."

The Doctor activated the scanner and the image of the computer room appeared on the screen. His companion looked at it and shuddered. How could he possibly have wanted to go back to that accursed place?

The Time Lord took the circuit from Frankie and ordered her and Alex to remain in the TARDIS. He then vanished through the doors before anyone could respond. Jason gave the Teggellans a weak smile and followed his friend out.

"I wonder how they'll explain away the disappearance of twenty-three people, most of which were top level officials, not to mention the High Priest of Jaka," the Alterran remarked.

"I just hope they don't come looking for them," the Doctor replied. "An Earth-type police box in the middle of an ancient Teggellan temple will be rather more difficult to explain away."

Jason crossed to the main control panel and sat down, holding out a hand. "Epsilon circuit, please." The Doctor complied, handing him the sphere, but instead of fitting it into the console, Jason held it in his hands, studying it in wonderment. "It's such a waste," he sighed, shaking his head. "So much good could be accomplished with this. It seems a crime to destroy it."

The Doctor stiffened, not liking where this seemed to be going. "They're dangerous, Jason. You know that better than anyone. You're the one who said there was evil here, remember?"

"Yes. But was it the spheres or the Cult I could feel so strongly? I mean, how can a _thing_ be evil?"

"I don't know," the Doctor said cautiously. "Why don't we talk about it?"

His companion looked up, the worried expression on the Time Lord's face making him laugh. He fitted the sphere into the center of the star-shaped control dial and flipped a switch to bring the ancient computer to life. The room was filled with the sound of the massive unit reviving flawlessly after centuries of inactivity. Jason looked up again, his eyes sparkling at his uneasy friend. "Don't just stand there patronizing me, Doctor," he grinned. "Help me deactivate these control systems."

The Time Lord's eyes narrowed. "You brat," he scolded, going to the far side of the room. "Keep that up and I'll take you back where I bought you."

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," Jason chirped brightly, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "All sales final. No refunds. No exchanges. No…no…" His voice was suddenly filled with anguish as he cried out, _"No!"_

The Doctor spun around to see his companion sitting with his hands to his head in obvious distress. "Jason, what's wrong?"

Jason did not seem to hear him. "No! I won't…give in. I…won't," he said through gritted teeth. He fell from his chair, ending up on his knees.

The Time Lord was immediately at the young man's side, at a loss as to what to do for him.

"Doctor, get out, quickly!" Jason said painfully. "You're in danger! Get out! Please, get out!"

"Doctor, what's happening?" a worried voice called from the Temple area.

The Doctor looked up to see Frankie and Alex just outside the TARDIS. "I don't know," he replied helplessly.

Jason whimpered loudly, his hands pressed against his temples. He seemed to be fighting some unseen force and drew himself into a ball. Suddenly a thin shaft of light was projected from the Epsilon sphere, fixing itself upon the struggling youth. Then the computer came to life on its own and a screen started displaying scenes from the Alterran's past.

"No!" the Doctor gasped. Turning sharply to the now motionless figure beside him, he ordered, "Jason, concentrate! You must shield your mind!"

"Doctor, what's happening?" Frankie demanded.

Without looking up, the Time Lord snapped, "Get back into the TARDIS!"

"Doctor—!"

"Do it!" the Doctor snarled. "If you value your lives, do as I say. _Now_."

Alex needed no further prompting and dragged Franking back into the TARDIS.

The images on the screen started to blur and the Doctor hoped that it was a good sign, despite the fact that Jason was still in a tight knot on the floor. The screen suddenly went blank and the Alterran relaxed. After a second or two, he started to get up, stopping when he saw his own hands. He stared at them as if seeing them for the first time.

"Jason…?" the Doctor said hesitantly. The youth looked up at him and he fell back in horror. The Alterran's human-like blue eyes had been replaced the by crystalline sensors of his true self.

An evil laugh rumbled from the Alterran's throat. "At last…I'm free!" he announced, his voice now deep and sinister with a vaguely familiar metallic edge.

The glittering eyes turned to fix themselves on the Doctor, who recoiled in spite of himself. "Who are you?" he asked almost hesitantly.

The question was answered with another laugh, the sound rolling like thunder around the room. Rising to his feet, the gentle face that was Jason's darkened and distorted into one of pure hate. "Don't you know, Time Lord?" he replied, a distinct edge of bitterness in the rich, resonant voice. "I am Jaka, God of Water and Light. The one _your_ people but into bondage."

"That's impossible!" came a voice from the Temple area.

The Doctor's head snapped around and he saw Alex standing at the TARDIS door. "Get back in the TARDIS, _now!_" he commanded.

Jaka pointed a finger and an energy bolt flashed from it, striking the door of the police box a split second after it was slammed shut.

"What've you done with Jason?" the Doctor demanded.

"That insipid boy?" the false god sneered. "I've destroyed him, of course. He served his purpose. _My_ purpose."

"No!" The Doctor jumped to his feet. "I _saw_ the transference. Now, what've you done with him?"

The Alterran waved a hand dismissively, which only served to make the Doctor angrier. He turned to the main control board, reaching for the Epsilon circuit.

"No!"

Before he knew what was happening, the Doctor was lifted off of his feet and flung across the room. He slammed into the far wall, the force of the impact knocking the breath out of him. He had to grab the wall to keep from falling, barely managing to stay on his feet. A split second later, a force field encircled him, trapping him where he stood.

"You see, Time Lord?" Jaka laughed. "I _am_ all powerful."

"Hardly…_all_ powerful," the Doctor observed breathlessly. "You've only…one Epsilon circuit left."

"No. I have _the_ Epsilon circuit left." So saying, the being across the room placed a hand on the sole remaining sphere. The Doctor watched in a combination of horror and fascination as the thousands of fragments on the floor suddenly returned to their original shape, rising into the air and installing themselves in to the control panel.

"The power of old is mine at last," the sinister voice purred.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered where he'd heard the voice before. It was in the console room when Jason was delirious. Or was he…?

The jewel-like eyes turned back to see the aghast expression on his face. "Yes, Time Lord, it was _I_ who brought you here. The open telepathy circuits in your TARDIS were most helpful. As was this boy while he was out of his mind."

"It was _you_ in the console room!" the Doctor gasped in disbelief. "You. You're the reason for Jason's amnesia."

"Yes," came the proud reply. "It was ingenious the way you cured him."

"Thank-you," the Doctor said acidly.

"He couldn't bring himself to kill you," Jaka's deep voice rumbled on, "and I wasn't in control enough to overcome that. I am in control now, no thanks to you. Were I to've been denied my freedom, I would've made certain your death was excruciating."

The Doctor stiffened, choosing not to reply to the obvious threat.

In the TARDIS console room, Frankie and Alex watched in trepidation as the events played out on the scanner.

"Alex, we've got to do something to help him!" Frankie cried desperately.

"Like what?" Alex wanted to know. "If we so much as poke our noses out there, we'll be fried to cinders."

"I'm not going to stand her and let that…that…_thing_ kill the Doctor!" Frankie exploded.

"Frankie, what can _we_ do against _that?_"

Turning slowly back to the view screen, Frankie had a brainstorm. "It's not what _we_ can do. It's what _I_ can do. As soon as he turns his back, we'll slip out the door."

Following her gaze, Alex shook his head. "I hope you know what you're doing.


	26. A Show Of Force

**CHAPTER 26**

**A SHOW OF FORCE  
**

"But I can be a merciful god," Jaka said in an almost wistful tone. "Your suffering will befit your interference."

"I hope it's not like that of your faithful followers," the Doctor remarked aridly.

The Alterran laughed. "You amuse me, Time Lord," he said as if surprised by this. His face distorted further, his features becoming sharper until the Doctor realized he was looking at the face of Jaka himself.

"All my faithful followers wanted was power," the false god went on, a bitter edge to his voice. "_My_ power. They served the purpose for which I called them, but their inadequacies eventually rendered them useless and I was forced to destroy them. Just like all the others."

"Others?"

"You sound surprised. Brogan wasn't the first star traveler to come in search of my power. There've been many who've taken up the roll of High Priest. But none of my own race. None I could possess so completely."

"You've lost me," the Doctor admitted. "If you couldn't possess them—"

"Few are trained to close out external influences as your race is. With them, control is easy," Jaka said simply, placed a hand on the controlling Epsilon circuit. "Until my power was returned, there was little else I could do. And this boy you trained so well proved far more difficult to take control of than did Brogan." With a wistful sigh, he added, "It was almost a pity I was forced to destroy him."

The Doctor was immediately interested, but did not allow it to come through in his voice. "You mean it's a pity _Jason_ was forced to destroy him, don't you?" he said blandly. "After all, you said yourself you were powerless—"

"Child's play," Jaka snorted. "If you'll recall, this boy had possession of the circuit when my High Priest and the others revolted. I was able to turn the violence in their minds against them by giving the power he'd utilized an extra nudge. He didn't think he could control it, so, naturally, he couldn't. I did."

"_You_ did it…" the Doctor echoed, being greatly relieved to learn his companion had not been the one responsible for so many violent deaths.

"It's ironic, don't you think?" Jaka went on. "That the one to return my power to me was the only one not seeking it."

The Doctor blinked. "_Not_ seeking it?" he repeated. The more the false god spoke, the more misgivings he cleared up concerning Jason's recent erratic behavior.

"He doesn't want the power I offer, the stupid, foolish boy. His mind's been poisoned with what he calls a sense of moral justice," Jaka said in distaste. "He also has a revolting amount of emotional baggage to go with it."

"Things like compassion, mercy, idealism? Useless things like that?"

The sarcasm was lost on the Alterran, who answered as though the Doctor had made his remarks in earnest. "Exactly. I knew _you_ would understand, Time Lord. Your race is so completely heartless. How ironic that you should have two."

"It has been mentioned."

"I must see to it all traces of these useless emotions are purged once my task is complete," the false god said offhandedly.

Again the Doctor was intrigued by Jaka's remarks and raised an eyebrow. Choosing not to comment on it, he said, "Tell me, since you already had Brogan at your disposal—and he was such a snap to control—why go after Jason?"

"I needed my Guardian."

The Doctor was momentarily stunned. "Your— Do you mean…? Jason really _was_ the Guardian after all?"

"Only one of my own race possesses the unique anatomy required to open the chest." Jaka laughed at his captive's horrified expression. "While he was delirious, I implanted an overpowering fear of madness and rejection in his mind. With it, I was able to maintain control. The harder he fought, the tighter my grip became." With another laugh, he added, "And he couldn't even tell you, because he was too afraid you'd banish him forever."

This appalling revelation both saddened and angered the Doctor, who wished he had known that this had been the reason behind his friend's strange and uncharacteristically secretive behavior. "So what do you intend now?" he asked pointedly, his voice suddenly deadly serious. "Things have moved on while you've been dormant, you know? The Time Lords and Alterrans have become powerful allies—thanks to you, ironically. And the rest of the universe has forgotten all about—"

The Alterran's crystalline eyes suddenly blazed with the raging hatred Jason had been trying so desperately to fight. An intense blue light fell on the trapped Time Lord, causing him to cry out in pain.

"I was trapped by your race, Time Lord! Abandoned by my own people and left to rot in the limbo of eternity! I may've been forgotten once, but not again. This time _all_ will know and re member the name of Jaka!"

The Alterran's rage passed quickly, the blue light fading at the same time. The Doctor sagged back against the wall, feeling drained and slightly dazed. "Perhaps I am a few thousand years late in my rise to glory," Jaka chuckled. "But isn't there an expression that goes, _Better late than never?_"

"Yes," came the shaky reply. "It's an Earth expression. And you'll forgive me for saying so, but I'm rather surprised that you know it."

"This boy's mind is filled with trivial expressions and nonsense," Jaka snorted disdainfully, turning his back on his shaken prisoner—and the door.

Seizing the opportunity, Frankie and Alex slipped out of the TARDIS and hid just outside the computer room door.

"Everything seems to be in order," the Alterran purred, looking over the console with an appraising eye. "Tell me, Time Lord, which should I destroy first? Alterrous or Gallifrey?"

The Doctor was appalled. "No, you can't go through with it!"

"You dare tell me what I can and cannot do?"

"The ones responsible for your imprisonment are dead. Long dead. What purpose would it serve to—?"

"Silence!" the Alterran thundered. "Perhaps I should kill you first." His eyes blazed brightly once more.

Caught in the agonizing light, the Doctor twisted in pain. Then he found himself unable to breathe as an invisible hand clamped down on his throat.

"No! Stop it!" Frankie screamed. Alex tried to stop her and was so astonished when she pushed him away that he fell to the floor. Equally astonished, Jaka immediately lost his concentration. Released from his torment, the Doctor sank to the floor gasping for breath.

"Primitives! How delightful!" Jaka squeaked happily.

"I'll give you primitives," Frankie hissed, throwing herself at the amused false god.

"You dare interfere, woman?" Jaka gasped amazedly, grabbing her by the wrists as she reached up to claw at his face.

"You're damn right! Just give me half a chance and I'll scratch your rhinestone eyes out!" She struggled to free herself only to be effortlessly flung into the far corner of the room. Frankie slammed into the stonewall with such force she had to grab whatever she could to keep from falling. "Here we go again," she moaned.

Alex was already on his feet and halfway across the room. "You leave her alone!"

"Silence, primitive!" Jaka raised a hand and Alex found himself being thrown forcefully back against the wall. His head struck its unyielding surface, knocking him unconscious. He dropped like a stone to the floor beside the Doctor. At the same time the force field widened, encompassing them both. The Doctor tried to turn to the motionless Teggellan, only to find he could not move. He looked up to see the unsettling blue eyes fixed upon him, apparently searching for any sign of opposition. He knew better and said nothing, giving no outward sign of approval or disapproval.

With a satisfied smile, Jaka turned to the cornered Dr. Albert. Before he could decide what to do with her, however, the computer beeped loudly. He threw a quick glance at the main control panel and let out another delighted squeak. "Wonderful! Weapon systems fully charged and ready for testing."

"I should've smashed that sphere when I had the chance," Frankie spat venomously.

"Ignorant primitive," the false god snorted condescendingly. "It's impossible to destroy my power source. Didn't my High Priest tell you the prophecy? 'When the hidden power is restored to Jaka by his Guardian, no man alive shall have the might to return him to bondage,'" he quoted.

"Fancy flowery words," Frankie snorted. "Perhaps you haven't noticed, O Great One, but I don't happen to be a man." She received a noncommittal grunt in reply. "I do remember the one that says no woman is supposed to touch the power source. That's because it goes dead, isn't it?"

Jaka's eyes narrowed. "So you know about that, do you?" the deep voice rumbled. "That makes you something of a threat, now, doesn't it?" Looking over at the ancient torture table, an evil smile parted his lips. "Have a little rest until I decide what to do with you."

Before she knew what was happening, Frankie found herself securely clamped to the table. She struggled against the metal bindings without success, tears of anger rolling down her face.

"Perhaps later I'll show you why they called that the Alter of Pain." Turning, the Alterran saw the Doctor watching with an expression of anger and trepidation on his face. "Perhaps _you_ would like to tell her how it got its name, Time Lord?"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, but he continued in his silence, controlling himself with visible effort.

"No? Well, later then." Jaka settled himself in front of the control board and switched on the exterior monitors. He then started what the Doctor reasoned to be a diagnostic program. With a chuckle, Jaka pulled out a circuit board and removed a single chip, replacing the board again. He rose to his feet, crushing the chip beneath his heel. "Play time's over, children," he announced suddenly, looking pointedly at each of his helpless prisoners. "So if you'll excuse me…" Turning on his heel, he strode out of the room and into the TARDIS.

The Doctor waited a few seconds after the door was closed before asking after the wellbeing of his frightened Teggellan companions. Alex had regained his senses by this time, but was still rather dazed. "What's he going to do with us?" he asked, being more worried about Frankie than himself.

The Doctor was saved from replying when the computer started to hum loudly. He looked up and cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"He's using Jason's knowledge of the TARDIS to update his star charts," the Time Lord replied helplessly. "Now he'll be able to hit any target he wants."

To the Doctor's relief, a familiar voice said calmly, "Not if he uses the star charts from _that_ obsolete old thing."


	27. Voice Of The Computer

**CHAPTER 27**

**VOICE OF THE COMPUTER  
**

Frankie's heart missed a beat. "Jason," she breathed in a voice scarcely above a whisper.

The Doctor was far less surprised, and far more vocal. "My TARDIS is _not_ obsolete," he stated categorically.

"Well, Jaka thinks it is," his companion countered. "And you'd better be glad I was able to keep a few things back or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"You didn't send him to the archives, did you?"

"Where else? That'll keep him busy for a few minutes, at any rate."

Frankie could not believe how calmly the Doctor was taking all this. As if speaking to a literally disembodied voice were an everyday occurrence. "Jason, you're alive!" she said at last.

"If that's what you call it," the voice responded sadly. Anticipating the barrage of questions to follow, Jason quickly asked, "Doctor, are you alright?"

"For the moment. We all are, as a matter of fact."

"Good," his companion sighed. A shaft of light suddenly flashed from the control circuit, touching on each of the helpless occupants of the computer room. Frankie caught her breath when it fell on her, relaxing when Jason assured her that he was just scanning them to make sure they were indeed unharmed.

"Old habits die hard," the Doctor remarked as the light came to rest on him.

Jason ignored the remark. "I've been trying to get control of the power source, but I can't seem to take it over. This is a very complex setup. Looks like years in the making. I've only just figured out how to use the sensors, but I can't really see, if you know what I mean."

"Vaguely. Have you discovered anything relevant concerning our loving host while you've been poking around in there?"

"Aside from the fact that he's a raving lunatic, no."

"Too bad."

"I've found a really strange program that I haven't been able to access," Jason informed. "It seems relatively new, if that's possible. I'm working on it, but it's got a very elaborate access code."

"That may be something. Keep trying. Anything else?"

"Quite a bit, if you feel up to it."

"If it'll get us out of here, I'll try anything."

"I've been thinking. If we work it right, we should be able to maneuver him into a ground zero affect with the power source."

The Doctor considered. "Risky," he said at last.

"Very. I can quote you the odds, if you like?"

"Don't bother."

"Alright. First we have to get him off balance. I think I can manage—" The disembodied voice abruptly stopped when Jaka emerged from the TARDIS and crossed to the console. He checked the systems and then turned his unnerving crystalline eyes in the Doctor's direction. "You've no doubt already deduced what I've been up to."

"Yes," the Doctor said stiffly. "You've accessed the information about the TARDIS amongst the 'trivia' in Jason's mind."

"This boy's mind is full of more than just trivia," the false god snorted. "Did you know he practically worshipped the ground you walk on? It boggles the mind. One of the elite aristocracy —a member of the First Circle, actually looking up to an…_outsider_." This last word was spoken as if it were poison. With a mocking laugh, Jaka added, "And he did what ever you asked, didn't he? The stupid child! He really was your servant, wasn't he?"

The Doctor continued to control himself with visible effort, glaring angrily at the distorted aberration of hate.

"How delightfully simple it was to use that revolting hero worship against him," the false god went on. "It made everything else child's play."

The room suddenly started to shake violently and Frankie caught her breath, looking around in terror. "It's an earthquake!" she cried in a panic-stricken voice.

"No," the Doctor observed blandly. "More like the precursor to an erupting volcano."

"Don't be a fool. There are no volcanoes in this part of the world, Time Lord," Jaka snorted indignantly.

The Doctor's eyes flickered, his captor having just confirmed the fact that Jason had been able to hold some things back. On more than one occasion his companion had referred to himself as Mt. Jason, likening his volatile temper to an erupting volcano. That Jaka did not know this was significant.

"Alright, Jaka, now what?" the Doctor asked, addressing the Alterran by name for the first time. "You never did tell me. You've got your power _and_ your Projector. What's next? Surely you've had time to work all that out over the centuries? Or do you still need to practice?"

Jaka's eyes grew wide, blazing in anger. The Doctor cried out as the light flared around him, burning into his brain. "You are insolent! Any further discourtesy—" He turned his gaze to Frankie. "—and I shall kill the woman."

Frankie screamed as the blue light suddenly enveloped her. "It's burning me!" She struggled against her bonds, but was just as powerless to escape as the Doctor had been earlier.

"Shall I sacrifice this female upon my Alter of Pain, Time Lord?" the Alterran asked tauntingly. A crackle of energy sounded above the table, the implications blindingly obvious.

"No!" the Doctor shouted. "Do what you want with me, just leave her alone."

Jaka smiled cruelly, his anger burning further into the defenseless woman who pleaded with him to stop.

Suddenly an angry voice thundered, _"Stop it!"_

The building shook to its foundations when Jason spoke again, "Stop it, you sadist!" An energy bolt flashed from above Frankie, striking the unsuspecting false god full in the chest and knocking him to the floor.

"So, the boy speaks at last," Jaka said as he picked himself off of the floor. "I didn't think you had the skill."

"I've got skills you've never dreamed of, you barbarian," Jason spat back. "And I can do a lot more than speak!"

Jaka put his hand on the star-shaped control dial. "Can you do this?" Glancing to the exterior monitors, he twisted the dial and pushed a button. An energy bolt flashed from the peek of the Temple exploding into the monolith at the base of the cliff. Sand and water were thrown into the air as the beam punched a man-sized hole through the ancient wall.

"Bull's eye," came the unenthusiastic response.

Jaka grunted and turned the dial again.

"Is that all you can do? Parlor tricks?" Jason asked sarcastically, receiving a second indignant snort in reply. "My turn. Tell me, O Great One, have you seen this one?" The monitors abruptly changed, displaying lines and lines of coded information. "Now you see it." The screens then went blank. "Now you don't." The words File Deleted flashed up on the screen a second later.

"No! Stop that, you meddlesome urchin!" the aghast Jaka shouted.

"Tut-tut," Jason admonished brightly. "And from a usurper to the First Circle, too." The wall of instruments behind the Doctor suddenly came to life as the computer began searching through its files.

"I'm well beyond urchinhood, by the way," the voice in the computer went on calmly. "In fact, I've already passed my first century. Which makes me a far more serious threat than Frankie, don't you think?"

The Alterran usurper gave an angry growl, slamming a fist on the computer console. He flew at the controls in a vain attempt to stop the flow of data from being erased by unplugging Jason.

"No, not that one," Jason taunted as the false god pulled out a control panel to attack the circuits inside. "No. That's not it either. Not even close."

"I'll stop you yet!" Jaka snarled, yanking out another board.

The trapped Alterran started to laugh delightedly, further unsettling the confused Alex. "Doctor, what's he trying to do?" he whispered. "Get us all killed?"

The Doctor found, much to his delight, that he could move again and turned to the bewildered Teggellan. "Jason's trying to distract him," he said quietly. "He's forcing Jaka to concentrate on him and not us. He can't expend the mental energy necessary to control us while he's chasing Jason through the computer."

The equally bewildered Dr. Albert watched the goings on in a daze, having been weakened considerably by the blazing light. She almost jumped out of her skin when she suddenly heard Jason's gentle, soothing voice whispering very close to her ear. "Frankie, I'm going to try and release the clamps. Be ready to grab him, if the opportunity arises. You may not get a second chance."

Frankie had just enough time to nod before her bonds clicked open and withdrew into the table. She sat up slowly, putting a finger to her lips when she saw the Doctor and Alex looking in her direction. She got down from the table and stood shakily beside it, still feeling a bit wobbly.

"Did you know…?" Jason suddenly said conversationally. "With the right modifications this computer can duplicate Epsilon waves without an operator?"

Jaka stopped short and looked up sharply.

"Did you also know," the captive Alterran went on, "that I happen to have the skill to do just that?" There was a sudden flash and the astonished Jaka found himself across the room and standing in front of Frankie who glared angrily at him before finally giving in to her baser instincts. She promptly decked him.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind, Frankie," Jason moaned admonishingly.

"I'm going to erase you, boy!" the false god snarled.

"Not if I can help it." Frankie snarled, giving the downed Alterran a savage kick. The enraged being grabbed her leg and pulled her to the floor, slapping her across the face with the back of his hand.

The force field trapping the Doctor and Alex suddenly vanished and Alex was on top of Frankie's attacker in an instant, knocking him senseless with a single blow.

"Alex, get him on the table, quickly!" Jason commanded.

The Security Chief did as instructed, having no sooner finished than the dazed Alterran returned to his senses and sent the Teggellan flying with another blast of energy. A split second later, a glowing blue barrier of energy closed off the opening across the front of the table.

Frankie took an alarmed step back, letting out a cry of terror when a hand touched her shoulder.

"It's only me," the Doctor said gently.

"Wh…what happened?" the dazed oceanographer asked.

With the greatest of satisfaction, the Time Lord replied, "A trap just closed."


	28. Ground Zero

**CHAPTER 28**

**GROUND ZERO**

"I wouldn't try anything now, O Great One," the voice in the computer said triumphantly. "That's an invention from _my_ time, and it has the unusual property of suppressing one's ability to trans­mute, which I assume you already know is the source of Epsilon waves."

Jaka howled with rage, pounding on the walls of his new prison. He made the mistake of hit­ting the energy barrier and was thrown back against the wall, momentarily stunned.

Alex got shakily to his feet. Only one thing that had been said was important to him. "You mean…he can't hurt us?"

"Not while the barrier is operating," the Doctor informed.

Frankie could stand it no longer and asked, "Jason, where are you?"

"He's in the computer," the Doctor replied.

"Correction. I _am_ the computer," his companion rejoined.

"But…he said you were dead," Frankie stammered out, waving a hand in Jaka's direction.

"He's better off dead," the false god snorted from behind the energy barrier. "He's where I was. And that's where he'll stay."

"If you could get out, then so can he," Frankie countered fiercely.

The Doctor suspected the false god's words to be true when his companion did not respond right away. "Jason…?"

After a long pause, Jason admitted, "I'm afraid it's true. He crushed the component that would allow me to open the pathway from this end. Now the only way I can get out is for him to come back in."

"And that's not going to happen," Jaka stated categorically, going on to laugh at the stunned expressions this induced. "How does it feel to have a friend who's a computer, Time Lord? He can solve all your problems in a millisecond, but he can't solve his own."

"Shut up," Jason snapped angrily. "Just shut up or I'll—"

"Kill me?" came the amused reply. "That's the last thing you'd do. It's not a noble gesture, it's murder."

"No. It's suicide," Jason said startlingly. "And I have no qualms about sacrificing _myself_ to save my friends."

It was more the tone than the statement that set off an alarm in the Doctor's head. His com­pan­ion was trying to get his attention to relay a message and he turned sharply to the main con­trol board, his body language telling Jason that he had understood his meaning.

"Two minds of a single thought," Jason said in a pleased tone. "Let's put this thing out of ac­tion, Doctor."

"No!" Frankie gasped. "Jason, if you do that, you'll be trapped forever."

"It's too late for me, Frankie. There's nothing you can do. But it's not too late for any of you. Not now."

The Doctor gave a resigned sigh. "I fear I must agree with him."

"Doctor, no!" Frankie wailed.

The Time Lord ignored her, calmly asking, "Jason, where do I start?"

"You can start by pulling the control boards from the panels over where you were sitting. That'll put the weapon system out of commission. I'm sure Alex won't mind giving you a hand smashing them to pieces."

"And what about me?" Dr. Albert asked.

After a long pause, Jason quietly replied, "I want you to pull the plug on the power source."

* * *

The Doctor took his time with the control circuits, wanting to make absolutely certain it could never be reactivated. Once this was done, he exchanged a quick glance with Alex and then turned to Frankie.

No one had spoken during the entire operation and it was Jaka who finally broke the silence. "They've finished, Jason!" he sing-songed. "Time to say goodbye."

"You'd better say goodbye yourself, then," Jason replied cryptically.

Frankie drew a deep breath and turned to the Epsilon spheres. "What do I do?" she asked shak­ily.

"Remove the smaller spheres first," came the calm reply from the computer. "Put them in the trays on the console, but don't pull the control sphere from the center until I tell you."

"Then what?"

"Throw the whole mess into the energy barrier and run like hell."

Jaka was horrified. "No, you fool! Don't you know what that will do?"

"Of course I do. That's why I'm having her do it."

The trapped false god continued to protest, causing Alex to say, "Maybe you should tell _us_ what it'll do."

"It'll create an energy backlash," Jason replied calmly, "destroying the power source and Jaka at the same time."

"I wouldn't worry too much," the Doctor chimed in. "Confined in that small space, I should think he'll be vaporized almost immediately."

"And your friend will be trapped!" Jaka exclaimed in fear and anger. "Trapped for all eter­nity with no hope of escape!"

"At least I'll be alive," Jason taunted. "You won't. And you've only yourself to blame."

Frankie reached for the first sphere, stopping when Jaka yelled, "You're condemning him to an eternity of oblivion, female! Destroy those circuits, and he's as good as dead!"

"Do it, Frankie," Jason commanded. "Ignore him and just do it. Only _you_ can keep the power completely shielded until the spheres are sealed in the box."

Frankie was still hesitant, not wanting to be the one to condemn Jason to an eternity of isola­tion.

"She can't do it, boy! She's too weak!" the false god cried triumphantly. "My power has been restored by _you_, my Guardian. No man alive has the might to return me to bondage."

"Oh, please," Jason moaned contemptuously. "As Frankie's already pointed out, she's not a man. And, thanks to you, I'm no longer alive in any real sense of the word."

The horrified expression on the face of the trapped Alterran renewed Frankie's resolve. She gritted her teeth and yanked the first ball from the console, ignoring Jaka's shouts of protest. When all but the control sphere were returned to the box, she said shakily, "I've finished."

The voice of the computer spoke for what he said would be the last time. Once the last of the circuits was removed, he would be cut off forever.

"Goodbye, Doctor," Jason said calmly. "Tell my father that…my brother should take my place."

A ghost of a smile crossed the Time Lord's face. His eyes sparkled and he shot a quick glance over to the captive Jaka. "This is hardly the time to think of that," he said reprovingly. "Your brother would've taken your place as soon as you left."

"Perhaps. But _you know_ he's so completely helpless. I just hope my father's prepared to keep him healthy. _You know_ how close to the end of his _time_ he is."

"How very touching," Jaka spat. "Brotherly concern in your final hour. I may be sick."

"You'd better hurry," Jason snapped coldly. "You'll be dead soon enough." Before the false god could respond, Jason ordered, "Pull the circuit, Frankie."

In tears and shaking, Frankie obediently pulled the circuit. The computer immediately began powering down and she could no longer hold back the tears as she placed the sphere in the tray with the others and closed the container.

"Alex, take Frankie into the TARDIS," the Doctor ordered in a low voice.

Alex opened his mouth to protest, closing it again when the Time Lord turned to him with a stone-like expression on his face. It was obvious the Doctor was no mood to argue.

Turning back to the captive Jaka, the Doctor picked up the container of Epsilon circuits and walked purposefully across the room, his eyes blazing.

Jaka's arrogance suddenly evaporated and he pressed himself back against the wall. "Don't do it, Doctor!" he pleaded, calling the Time Lord by name for the first time. "Jason will be trapped forever. Destroy me, and he'll never get out!"

"Then he'll never get out," the Doctor stated categorically, and threw the container into the barrier. The explosion that followed hurled him from the room and into the Temple area where he landed in the open doorway of the TARDIS. Alex pulled the stunned Time Lord into the safety of the console room, Frankie shutting the door behind them.

The exploding Epsilon circuits sent sparks flying in all directions. The Temple shook to its foundations as the computer systems started to overload. Alex watched the holocaust on the scanner, wondering why they weren't vaporized along with Jaka as sheet after sheet of radiant energy enveloped the seemingly unprotected police box. He had no way of knowing that the TARDIS was acting as a lightning rod, deflecting the energy harmlessly into the atmosphere. Frankie stood beside him, turning away when the computer room seemed to melt, the ancient machinery becoming a twisted, fused mass of metal and plastic.

After several minutes the major explosions stopped to be followed by a series of smaller ones. Eventually these stopped as well, the glow of energy fading. It was then that they heard the agonizing screams from the trapped Alterran. Frankie covered her ears and closed her eyes, tears rolling down her face. No matter what, it was still Jason's body, and without it he was as good as dead himself. Alex put a consoling arm around her, but continued to watch the horrific scene on the viewer.

Through the clearing haze, Alex watched in horrified fascination as the body of the trapped Alterran distorted in shape several times, a shriek of agony erupting from the distorted form. He was amazed it didn't fall from the table as it continued to twist and flail. Fi­nally the glow of en­ergy dissipated and the horrific creature returned to a recognizable human shape. Alex stared in revulsion at the image on the viewer as a violent convulsion shook the Al­terran one last time be­fore he became deathly still, his back to the door. The Security Chief could not help but wonder what hideous form the face of this creature would have taken after suffering so hor­rible an end. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, the big man turned to look at Frankie.

"Is it over?" she asked quietly.

Ashen faced and trembling, Alex nodded, turning to look at the scanner. Frankie followed his gaze, a small sob escaping her when she saw the motionless form. She pulled the door lever and walked slowly out. Alex wanted to stop her, but knew better than to try.

Frankie stood at the threshold of the exterior doors, looking around in amazement. After what she had just seen, she assumed the temple area would be unbearably hot and was startled to find it wasn't even warm. Looking into the computer room, she hesitated, afraid of what she might see if she got too close. Squaring her shoulders, she drew a deep breath and stepped away from the TARDIS, entering the twisted remains of the control room. She was close enough to touch the motionless Alterran when she stopped, afraid to go on. Suddenly she realized the breathing she could hear was not her own and she took a step back. "Alex, he's alive!" she cried in terror, her hands going to her mouth. "My God, he's still alive!"

Alex was immediately at her side. He turned the Alterran over and was stunned to see, not a grotesque death mask, but Jason's gentle face. His blue eyes had returned to normal and were staring sightlessly into space. His was breathing so heavily that it was as though he were gasping for each breath. Above his shoulder was Brogan's ornamental knife and Alex's eyes nar­rowed when he saw it.

"Oh, Alex, what are we going to do?" Frankie moaned. "How could anyone survive that?"

"I don't know," the Security Chief snarled, snatching up the knife. "And I'm not waiting to find out."

"No! Alex, you can't! It's murder!"

The figure on the table suddenly shuddered and took a sharp breath, the eyes closing a mo­ment and then reopening, looking around dazedly. After several tries, they finally focused on Alex, and then the blade in his hand.

Frankie looked into the gentle face and let out a small sob, which only served to further fuel Alex Grove's anger. He gritted his teeth and raised the blade, only to have Frankie grab his wrist. "Alex, please, you can't. You mustn't. It's murder."

Alex pulled his hand free "Frankie, he'd've killed us all if—" His words were cut off when the Doctor suddenly appeared out of nowhere and caught him by the arm, stripping the knife from his hand.

"No, you idiot, this is Jason," the Time Lord admonished, tossing the knife across the room. He pushed the astonished man aside and checked over the powerless Alterran. The blue eyes struggled to focus on the Doctor's face, but the effort proved too great and he lost consciousness.


	29. Aftermath

**CHAPTER 29**

**AFTERMATH**

"Doctor, Jason's trapped in the computer forever," Frankie objected. "You said so yourself."

"That's what we wanted Jaka to think," the Doctor replied, taking the limp youth into his arms and carrying him the TARDIS. "That way he'd transfer himself back into the computer and leave Jason to die in his place."

"How can you possibly know that?" Alex demanded as he followed the Time Lord into the console room.

"I don't for certain. I just hope it," the Doctor replied, placing the Alterran on the bed and sit­ting down beside him.

"And what if you're wrong?" Frankie asked sheepishly.

"If I'm wrong—"

"Then Jaka will kill us all," Alex completed angrily.

"No, I don't think so," came the calm reply.

Alex was incredulous. "Doctor, you didn't see what happened in there."

The Doctor looked up sharply. "You saw what happened?"

Alex was taken aback. "Well…yes."

"Well, don't just stand there, man! Tell me what you saw."

Alex exchanged a puzzled look with Frankie before describing the events he had witnessed.

"Just as I thought. He had a misfire."

"A what?" the Teggellans said in unison.

"A misfire. In simple terms it means that whoever this is, Jason or Jaka, they're completely helpless now."

"Yes, but how long will that last?" Alex asked skeptically.

"Until he's treated. A misfire pulls an Alterran's molecular structure completely apart. That's the distortion you saw. Over the next twelve to eighteen hours, the natural cohesion will break­down completely." In a solemn tone, the Doctor added, "It's not a very pleasant way to die."

"Die!" Frankie gasped, exchanging a horrified look with Alex before giving the Alterran's pallid face and glazed, half-open eyes a closer look. "How…?" she began haltingly. "Doctor, how will you know? I mean, _really_ know who this is?"

"Jason should be able to let me know easily enough," the Time Lord replied confidently, adding under his breath, "If his mind is working, that is."

"How?" Alex asked acidly. "By code?"

The Doctor gave him an astonished look. "Yes. How ever did you guess?" Receiving a stunned look in reply, he turned back to his companion. "I suspected as much when he said he'd need medical attention when he got out."

"He never said anything like that," Alex protested.

"You probably thought our little goodbye was rather poignant."

"That's putting it mildly, Doctor," Frankie admitted.

"It probably would've been—had Jason a brother. He happens to be an only child." The Doctor went on to explain the message: Jason's brother Alterran, meaning Jaka would take his place in the computer. But afterward he Jason would be completely helpless. The reference to his father, whom the Doctor knew to be a physician, coupled with the remark of keeping him healthy meant Jason would need medical assistance.

"He mentioned time being close to his father, which by extension means me," the Doctor went on. "And I think he meant he needed to be treated in the console room, but the reason for that eludes me. Whatever he meant, he didn't want Jaka to know about it."

"Now how do you know that?" Frankie asked, fascinated at the amount of information the friends had passed undetected.

"Jason stressed twice that I already knew something, which meant he didn't want anyone else to know—especially Jaka."

"This is getting beyond me," Alex muttered helplessly. "How did you know he'd even sur­vive? How could he know?"

"Ground zero," the Time Lord said simply.

"Like when an atom bomb goes off?" Frankie guessed.

"In a way," the Doctor replied slowly. The intricacies of the physics involved were far be­yond the current technology of his Teggellan companions and he was content to let this simpler analogy suffice.

Alex was still puzzled. "But he was directly behind the blast and in a confined space. The energy wouldn't've been able to pass around him." Alex caught his breath. "Unless that barrier reflected everything away until the last minute."

The Doctor gave him an admiring look. "Precisely right."

The youth on the bed moaned at that moment, his body shuddering and then glowing brightly. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, focusing with difficulty on the faces around him. His gaze came to rest on the Doctor and their eyes locked, the Alterran's blue eyes saying a great deal without saying anything. Unable to speak and too weak to move, he was only strong enough to stretch out his fingers in his friend's direction.

The Time Lord took the boy's hand and squeezed. "You'll have to tell me," he said gently. "I must be sure."

The blue eyes flickered and then closed. Jason was having difficulty just staying conscious and now he was being asked to _think!_ Opening his eyes, he squeezed the Doctor's hand and then summoned all of his strength to point a finger at the Time Lord's chest.

Puzzled, the Doctor looked down at himself. "I don't understand."

The eyes closed in frustration, opening again to look up at the Doctor and then pointedly past him. The finger pointed in the same direction. The Doctor turned, seeing his abandoned coat on the control room floor.

"My coat?"

The hand squeezed in reply. (Yes.)

"Something in the coat?" (Yes!)

The Doctor turned back and scowled.

Suddenly Jason's muscles constricted painfully and he closed his eyes, crying out in anguish. Jaka had expended a great deal more energy than Jason anticipated and his body was deteriorat­ing many times faster than he'd calculated. At the rate he was going, he would be past the first phase of the misfire within a quarter of an hour. Once he entered the third phase, he would be able to speak, but this meant he'd have to endure the second phase, which meant several hours of hallucinations and unconsciousness before lucidity returned.

The Doctor was fully aware of all this and said in a desperate tone, "Jason, if it is you, _please,_ tell me."

"So much for code," Alex snorted.

"Alex, you're not helping any," Frankie snapped.

"Well, if it were me," the Security Chief responded coldly, "I wouldn't be satisfied unless he spelled it out."

The Alterran's eyes suddenly snapped open and the hand in the Doctor's squeezed tightly. Then, slowly and deliberately, it started to move, bringing a broad smile to the Time Lord's face. Using the finger spelling of the deaf, Jason was able to say four words. "I-T-S M-E. T-I-M-E S-H-O-R-T."

As if to underscore the urgency of his situation, Jason suddenly went rigid, his body glowing brightly for several seconds, a cry of pain being torn from him. His eyes glazed over and he went limp. It would be only a matter of minutes before he would lose consciousness altogether.

Without thinking, the Doctor reached into the pocket his companion had pointed at. He caught his breath when he found it empty and looked over at the coat on the floor, seeing it in a whole new light. "Of course! My dear Jason, forgive me. I'm an idiot."

The Alterran's hand squeezed and then signed, "I K-N-O-W," a faint smile passing across his face.

"Now I know it's you," the Doctor muttered disdainfully as he got to his feet. He pulled a small black box from the pocket in his abandoned coat and then returned to the bedside. Frankie was surprised to see the box contained a small vial of liquid and a hypodermic pack.

Watched closely by the fast weakening youth, the Doctor filled the syringe. Another painful convulsion shook Jason's body before he finally lost his battle to remain conscious.

"Oh no, you don't," the Doctor admonished under his breath and injected the medication.

Jason's reaction was immediate and violent. He took a sharp breath and went rigid, his body arching as if being electrocuted. He convulsed violently, letting out a loud wail before fi­nally going limp. After a few seconds, his breathing became slow and steady and his heart stopped racing itself.

"My God, you've killed him," Alex gasped, finding his voice at last.

The Doctor looked up in mild amusement. "My dear Alex, I've done nothing of the kind. He's just reacting to the medication." He went on to explain that the drug worked in a two-fold man­ner; initially shocking Jason's damaged system to stop the progression of the breakdown and then inducing a therapeutic coma that would allow his body to stabilize and repair itself.

"How long will he be in a coma?" Frankie wanted to know.

"I've no idea. Each instance is unique," the Doctor replied as he covered his companion with a blanket. "Long enough for me to seal the door to the computer room, I expect." With that, he turned on his heel and strode across the room.

"You can't just leave him!"

"My dear woman, there's nothing more I can do. He'll be safe enough in the TARDIS until I get back." Picking his coat up off of the floor, the Time Lord hung it on the hat stand and then went through the pockets, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. He pulled out a crumpled bag and gave a small grunt. "I wondered where I'd left you," he muttered, popping a jelly baby into his mouth as he walked out the door.

Alex gave the unconscious Alterran a dubious look. "I hope the Doctor's right about him. That Jaka character seemed to know an awful lot about what went on in Jason's head."

"Alex, you don't think…?" Frankie gasped. "You don't think he knew about the code, do you?"

"I hope not. But if he starts to wake up before we come back, you call me."

"Alright," Frankie agreed. "And you be careful yourself."


	30. Myth, Legend, And Fact

**CHAPTER 30**

**MYTH, LEGEND, AND FACT  
**

When he emerged from the TARDIS, Alex found the Doctor standing in the doorway to the devastated computer room.

"Jason was right," the Time Lord observed softly. "It's such a waste."

Alex made no reply. He was staring open mouthed at the gaping hole in the roof directly above the TARDIS. He returned to reality when he heard an annoyed grunt and turned to see the Doctor struggling to close off the way to the computer room. The doors refused to budge.

"They're probably melted inside," Alex observed as he crossed the room.

The Doctor shook his head, stepping inside the control room. "Not with the TARDIS pulling the energy away from them. It's more likely the control mechanism's been fused." He studied the door's control panel a moment before attacking it with his sonic screwdriver, pulling off the cover plate. He hoped he could somehow trigger the release mechanism, thus allowing him to manually force the door closed.

What followed was a length operation of trials and failures. After each attempt at the panel, the Doctor and Alex pushed, pulled and tugged at the doors without success.

Frankie watched their futile efforts on the viewer. Every so often she would check the motionless figure on the bed, becoming more worried each time. Jason had not moved a muscle since the Doctor left, and his breathing had become so faint that at one point Frankie thought he had stopped altogether. She was watching yet another vain attempt to close the doors when a hand suddenly touched her on the shoulder. She let out an alarmed cry and spun around, backing up when she saw Jason standing behind her. He was leaning heavily on the console, the blanket that had been covering him draped over his shoulders. He looked haggard and exhausted, his eyes dull and heavy lidded.

"Sorry," he said in a quiet, tired voice. "I didn't mean to startle you. Where's the Doctor?"

Frankie tried to speak but could not make a sound. She motioned to the exterior doors and then looked over to the viewer. Jason followed her gaze, seeing the Doctor and Alex struggling with the doors. Turning back to the console, he looked blankly down at the controls. There was something vitally important he needed to do. Now…what was it?

Using the console for support, the Alterran worked his way around, scrutinizing each panel until he came to the one he wanted. With a sigh of relief, he placed his hands on two metal disks and closed his eyes.

Frankie had been slowly edging her way to the door and was about to call to Alex when she heard a gasp from behind her. She turned and was horrified to see a beam of light coming from the console and playing over the body of the motionless Alterran. It vanished as abruptly as it appeared and Jason gave a small sigh, his body relaxing. The first thing Frankie noticed when he opened his eyes was how clear, bright, and alert they were. For a fleeting instant, she wondered if Jaka had not been fooled at all and was about to return in full vengeance.

Jason gave Frankie a small smile and stepped hesitantly from the console. He was still extremely unsteady on his feet and after another faltering step, his knees buckled. He just managed to grab the console on the way down, ending up on his knees.

Frankie was immediately at his side. "Are you alright?"

Slightly embarrassed, the Alterran nodded, smiling weakly. "I guess I'm not as strong as I thought." Looking up slowly, he saw for the first time the condition Frankie was in. "How about you?" he asked, reaching out a hand.

Frankie flinched away without thinking. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "I'm just—"

"Afraid I'll hurt you again," the Healer completed sharply. "It really is _me_, Frankie." Reaching out again, he put a hand beneath her chin, turning her face to examine the fresh set of bruises and fast blackening eye. "That these hands should've done this to you," he muttered angrily.

"I got in a few licks of my own to make up for it," Frankie grinned proudly.

The look on her face made Jason laugh. "You're still a tiger, dear lady, there's no doubt of that," he observed delightedly, adding in a serious tone, "Thank-you, by the way, for saving my life."

Frankie blinked, thinking he meant while he was sick. "Jason, you've already—"

"No, I mean out there. In the Temple. Alex would've killed me, if it hadn't been for you. What on earth made you—?"

To his astonishment, Frankie took his face in her hands. "Oh, shut-up," she admonished and kissed him.

* * *

"Doctor, are you absolutely sure Jaka is trapped in that computer for good?" Alex asked nervously as the Time Lord scowled at the seemingly immovable door.

"Actually, Jaka has been destroyed for all time," Jason calmly announced from behind him.

The Doctor turned and smiled, obviously delighted to see his companion back on his feet. He saw a strange, almost pained look pass across the young man's face and gave him a quizzical look.

"Don't just stand there staring at me, Doctor," Jason said in feigned reproof. "Give me one of those jelly babies before I pass out. I have to keep my energy up, y'know."

The Time Lord's smile returned to his face and he tossed the now grinning youth the crumpled bag before asking him to explain his remark.

"Strictly speaking, Jaka wasn't really here at all," the Alterran informed enigmatically. He slowly stepped away from the TARDIS and was half way across the room when his legs gave way again. With nothing to grab on to, he fell to the floor. The Doctor was immediately beside him and helped him to a slightly warped bench. "I have _got_ to stop _doing that_," Jason grumbled under his breath.

"What do you mean Jaka wasn't really here?" Alex demanded. "We all saw him! He stole your body, for pity sake!"

Jason shook his head. "What you saw was his imprint." He went on to explain that everything that made Jaka what he was had been meticulously recorded in the computer's memory. Everything. This meant that, even though his physical self was no longer alive, his essence lived on in the computer.

"That's impossible!" Alex snorted in disbelief.

"Not for a few select races," the Time Lord countered.

"Your myth says Jaka was betrayed," Jason went on quietly, "and apparently that part is true. The Projector wasn't fully programmed at the time, so instead of giving it up, he hid the power source and transferred his essence into the computer to finish the job. Then he waited until some unsuspecting fool like myself stumbled across this planet again."

The Doctor gave his companion a questioning look. "Now, hang on a minute, Jason, I know the story, too. And I don't recall his giving up quite so easily."

"Who said he gave up?" the Alterran countered. "He put up a fight so everyone would assume he'd been destroyed. Apparently it was his lifeless body that was cast into the sea—which would explain how everyone knew what the Guardian looked like."

"Wait a minute, back up," Alex broke in. "If he was killed, how did he get into the computer?"

"Block mind transference," the Doctor replied, his voice taking on an accusing edge when he said, "Which takes considerably longer than a few minutes, I might add."

Jason smiled weakly. "True. But that's not exactly what he used on me. He…well, he pulled my basic personality out of the way so he could do his take over bit. Once he'd gotten the Projector up and running, he was going to purge himself of the rest of me, as it were." Jason went on to explain that he had been able to program the computer to begin a meltdown of the memory core the instant the transfer occurred. He then downloaded a secondary program into the TARDIS computer using the open telepathy circuits. With it he was able to purge himself of any lingering vestiges of Jaka's personality.

"Of course!" the Doctor gasped. "That's what you meant about being close to time."

Alex was completely lost, but Frankie suddenly caught on. "That's the light I saw coming from the console!"

Jason nodded. "I also took the liberty of erasing Jaka's implanted programs. I've had my fill of being controlled."

What followed was an awkward silence.

The Doctor turned to look at the doors and sighed heavily. Would they _never_ close again?

Jason got to his feet, looking the doors up and down. "I suppose I could always transmute and force them closed," he muttered thoughtfully. He placed a hand on the wall and scanned the control mechanism. "But I think the problem is the spring. It seems to be stuck." With a sudden flash of inspiration, he gave the wall a tremendous thump with his fist.

Nothing happened.

"Well, it was worth a—" The Doctor broke off when he heard the unmistakable _boing_ of a spring letting go. Then one of the doors lurched forward.

Within minutes the mural that had parted so many hours before came together once again, closing off the melted and now useless computer room. Having never seen the image before, Jason studied it curiously. "Doctor, the painting!" he gasped.

Even when the Time Lord had seen it the first time it seemed unimportant. "What about it?"

"Look at it. That box. The one reflecting the lightning bolt. It's the chest the power source was in."

"And that's where we found it!" Frankie gasped, running a finger down the lightning bolt to the water. "Right there!" She turned back to the others in astonishment. "The location was here the whole time. Just like the legend says."

"It's _all_ here," the Alterran said, looking over the ebony panels written in his own ancient tongue. "Now it makes sense. The myth. The prophecies. Even the inscription on the monolith."

"The inscription?" the Doctor echoed.

His companion gave him a blank look before realizing, "Oh, yes. I never got the chance to tell you about that, did I? I read it when I was scouting around." He explained that the inscription stated that Jaka was in bondage for crimes against all sentient life and warned that he should never be reunited with his power. If this were to happen, he would bring death and destruction to Teggell and possibly the downfall of the universe.

"Ominous," the Doctor remarked aridly.

"Which leaves us with a rather ominous problem of our own, doesn't it?" Alex remarked blandly. "How do we explain all this to the police?"


	31. Facing The Truth

**CHAPTER 31**

**FACING THE TRUTH  
**

"Doctor, we can't just leave them," Jason protested as he was dragged into the Temple of Jaka.

"We can't stay, either," the Time Lord retorted as he opened the door to the TARDIS. "I don't know what you said to the police, but from what I could see from the summit, they seem to be coming en masse."

"I only told them where they could find Alex," his companion replied innocently as he pushed through the doors. A few seconds later, the TARDIS dematerialized.

At the highway below, the first of the police vehicles the Doctor had seen arrived at the base of the hill, the officers within locating Alex's car hidden among the trees almost immediately. The next group made their way up the dirt road, bypassing the Temple and making straight for the shrine where they expected to find the guilty Security Chief among the brethren of the Cult. To their amazement, they found, not the Cult of Jaka, but two heavily drugged individuals lashed to the alter. Their amazement turned to astonishment when the sacrificial offerings turned out to be the wanted Alex Grove and the missing (and presumed dead) Dr. Albert.

* * *

Alone in the console room, Jason made a quick temporal jump forward and then tuned into a Teggellan news broadcast, discovering that a media circus had followed the disappearance of the Cult of Jaka. One commentator after another rambled on with his or her own theories. Jason changed stations and caught his breath when he saw Frankie and Alex in the midst of a press conference. Satisfied his Teggellan friends were alive and unharmed, Jason was about to switch off the scanner when someone asked Dr. Albert about Crystal. Did she think the creature was the Guardian? Could this be why it had saved her life?

Frankie exchanged a knowing if somewhat amused look with Alex before stating that she believed Crystal had saved her life simply because she had grown attached to her. Behavior of this sort was not uncommon among some marine animals, and there was no reason to believe it was anything more spectacular than that. As for whether Crystal was the Guardian…? No, she wasn't.

Jason was so engrossed (and amused) by all this, that he failed to notice the Doctor enter the room. The equally amused Time Lord stood watching his companion for several minutes before putting on a serious expression and finally making his presence known. He closed the door with a bang, startling the Alterran who quickly switched off the viewer.

"You couldn't resist, could you?" the Doctor snorted in a disapproving tone.

Jason flushed slightly. "I'm sorry. I just had to know if they were alright."

"_They?"_

The young man's color deepened. "Alright, she. Frankie did save my life, and well…"

"You'd grown very fond of her."

Jason nodded, lowering his eyes.

"Well, now that you've satisfied your curiosity, perhaps we can try, once more to get to Earth." Not waiting for an answer, the Doctor began resetting the coordinates.

After a long silence, Jason admitted guiltily, "I should've told you straight away about the Projector, Doctor. I should've told you everything. I…I wanted to. It's just…I couldn't!"

"I know. The fear implant," came the understanding reply. "It must've been exceptionally powerful."

Jason closed his eyes and shuddered at the memory. "It was like…fighting a demon. Every time I tried to tell you…the anxiety I felt. It was almost unbearable." He shuddered again.

"Jason, you do realize my threats to banish you from the TARDIS have always been in jest, don't you?" the Doctor remarked.

"Jest! Doctor, I tried to kill you! _Twice!_"

Receiving a look of genuine surprise, Jason admitted, "Yes, I know about the first time. That's what was in the program I had trouble accessing."

"Aaah, I see."

Shaking his head, the Alterran said, "After what I did, it's no wonder that you're—" Cutting himself off, he quickly turned away.

"Now don't start that again," the Doctor scolded. "Whatever you have to say, just say it."

Jason turned to face him, a pained expression on his face. "It's no wonder that you're afraid of me."

"What?" The Doctor's large eyes widened. "Jason, I'm not—"

"Don't tell me you're not, Doctor, because I know you are. Every eruption of Mt. Jason terrifies you. I get too close to the edge between rational thought and blind rage for your liking. You're convinced I'll go over that edge some day and won't be able to find my way back."

The Doctor blinked. This was all quite true, even though he had never put any of these thoughts into words. He had, however, brooded over them on more than one occasion. "When exactly did you…?"

"Read your mind?"

"Yes."

"When I was in the computer." Jason went on to explain that each time the Doctor was attacked by Jaka, his mental defenses were severely weakened, making all but his deepest thoughts accessible. It was only because his thoughts were fed through the computer that Jason was able to shield them from Jaka, giving only himself access.

"Doctor, why didn't you tell me!" Jason exclaimed. "All this time, I can't believe you've actually been afraid of me—"

"I'm not afraid _of_ you, Jason, I'm afraid _for_ you. There is a difference," the Doctor pointed out mildly. "And, strange as it may seem, I really _do_ enjoy your company."

"Oh, Doctor, please," Jason moaned, "don't patronize me. Not now. I'm a contradiction in terms; a violent Alterran. I'm no use to anyone."

"Rubbish! If that were true, your Uncle never would've—" The Doctor bit off his own words but it was already too late.

"My Uncle...?" Jason was completely thrown, knowing his friend was referring to the Lord Emperor of Alterrous. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

The Doctor heaved an exasperated sigh. "A very long time ago," he began as if telling a fairy tale, "just after you joined me as a matter of fact, I had a rather unsettling conversation with the Emperor Quinton. He told me that our being together was not by accident and that a day would come when you would be forced to face your own duality and come to terms with it, one way or the other. He did not, or perhaps could not, elaborate on where or when."

Shocked, Jason's mouth dropped open. "Wh…why…didn't you tell me this before?" he stammered out at last.

"Because you weren't ready."

"I'm not sure I am now."

The Time Lord smile benignly. "Time will tell. It always does," he observed and returned his attention to the console, looking up in surprise when his companion suddenly asked, "What else did he tell you, Doctor?"

"What?"

"You heard me. You're holding something back. Now, what is it?"

The Doctor frowned down at the console, making a show of closing off the telepathy circuits and bringing an amused smile to the face of his uncharacteristically somber companion.

"Well…?" Jason asked when his friend looked up again.

The Doctor hesitated, wondering if the Alterran was ready to hear everything. Seeing no way around it, he said, "My job was to guide you. The Emperor believes you're more powerful than you realize yourself. And if you didn't receive some sort of guidance, you'd become more dangerous than any of us could possibly imagine."

Jason's eyes grew wide in horrified astonishment.

"Apparently Jaka isn't the first demon you've had to fight," the Doctor observed.

The young man shook his head. "No, he wasn't."

"I suppose you could say my job is to help you live up to your name."

"My name?"

"Krystovan. As I recall, it means _Unity from Conflict_," the Doctor observed. "And I can't think of a better description of what you've had to deal with all these years."

The Alterran gave way to an involuntary shudder and turned away. "The Emperor. He told you I was in the First Circle, didn't he?"

"No, he didn't, actually. Jaka used that term, too. What does it mean?" The words were barely out of the Doctor's mouth when his companion's body sagged. Jason had assumed this to be the reason behind his friend's fears and he cursed himself for having brought it up at all. Then again, after all they'd been through, the Doctor had a right to know everything.

Jason drew a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "The First Circle," he began slowly, "is an ancient term for those few who can take on another form without diminishing the powers of their true self."

"What? _All_ of them?" the Doctor heard himself asking.

"Yes."

This wasn't what the Doctor expected to hear and, not surprisingly, he was stunned. He knew that the Alterrans had long ago discovered that their powers were greatly diminished when they took on another form. Their policy of concealment had been adopted to automatically restrain themselves from abusing their extensive powers. If, as a member of the First Circle, Jason not only retained his powers but could also combine them with whatever form he chose, he would be more than a serious threat. He would be an unstoppable force.

Jason saw a fearful expression flicker across the Doctor's eyes and moaned. "I sometimes think I was born too powerful for my own good."

The Doctor replied without thinking. "Rubbish! You're one of the gentlest people I've ever met."

"With a temper that—"

"You're not the only one in the universe with a hot temper, you know? You just have to work on controlling it."

"But I _can't_ control it, Doctor!"

"Can't you? Are you sure? You've had all that power at your fingertips for…what? Close to a century?"

Jason nodded.

"And how many times have you used it in anger?"

To the Time Lord's relief, Jason replied, "Never, actually, but—"

"Then for goodness sake, stop torturing yourself before I lose _my_ temper!" the Time Lord scolded. To his delight, his companion laughed in spite of himself. "Now that's more like it."

Sighing heavily, the Alterran turned his gaze back to the blank scanner, causing the Doctor to groan inwardly. Now that they had all _that_ sorted out, perhaps they could work on the young man's annoying romantic tendencies. Jason was lovesick far too often for the Doctor's liking. It was not until the boy spoke again that the true reason for his melancholy became known.

"So…it's back to Tel-Shye, then?" Jason said sadly.

The Doctor gave him a mystified look. "Tel-Shye?"

"Now that I've faced myself, as it were, your job is done. Isn't it?"

The Doctor knew his job was only just beginning but kept this thought to himself, saying with a grin, "I thought you wanted to visit Earth."

Jason blinked. "But I thought…"

"My dear Jason, the Emperor only said you weren't with me by accident. He didn't say there was a time limit."


End file.
